Billy McFarland, the convicted organizer of the failed Fyre Festival, has requested early prison release due to coronavirus concerns at his Ohio jail. He is pictured leaving Manhattan federal court in 2017, the year of his conviction
Billy McFarland, the convicted organizer of the failed Fyre Festival, is making a bid to get out of jail early due to coronavirus concerns at his Ohio prison.
Lawyers for McFarland recently requested their client be granted a ‘compassionate release’, and allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence in ‘home detention’ rather than continue at the Elkton Federal Correctional Facility.
The attorneys say in a letter to a judge that 36 inmates and 26 staff members have been confirmed to have the virus and that four prisoners have died.
The lawyers also note that Republican Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio has called the jail a ‘breeding ground for the virus’.
There have been 7,543 confirmed cases in Ohio of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 334 deaths.
Across the country, there have been more than 633,380 confirmed cases of COVID-19, which has been blamed for at least 27,613 deaths.
McFarland, 28, is currently serving six years behind bars for fraud after he conned people out of millions to fund fake music festival Fyre Festival in 2017.
In addition to the risks of being around anyone who may be infected with COVID-19, McFarland’s lawyers say that he has pre-existing health issues, including asthma which he suffered as a teenager, plus allergies and ‘heart issues since his early 20s.’
The lawyers note that rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was given similar consideration and released to home detention, due to similar concerns and asthma.
Tekashi, 23, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, is currently serving a 24-month sentence after pleading guilty to nine charges including conspiracy to murder and armed robbery.
He had already served 13 months of his two-year sentence in jail, and he was due to be released from an upstate New York prison in August 2020.
Additionally, attorney Lance Lazzaro said that Hernandez had been experiencing shortness of breath and was not being allowed to see a doctor by prison officials.
Considering the rapper’s release, McFarland’s lawyers say their client is an ‘ideal candidate for compassionate release,’ and that he already was on track for possible home confinement release in 2021.
Earlier this month, MacFarland launched a coronavirus-related non-profit from his prison cell, but admitted that: ‘If I were you, I’d think this is a scam and I’m full of s**t’.
The inmate announced the business venture, known as Project-315, in a rambling Instagram post April 3, seeking to connect inmates with their families during the outbreak.
‘Today I’m launching Project-315, an initiative to help bring together and connect in-need federal inmates and their families who have been affected by the coronavirus,’ he wrote in the long letter, also posted on the non-profit’s website.
The inmate at Elkton Federal Correctional Facility in Ohio announced his latest business venture Project-315 in a rambling Instagram post Friday (above). The non-profit aims to help to connect inmates with their families during the coronavirus outbreak
Celebrities including Elsa Hosk, Emily Ratajkowski, Bella Hadid, Lais Ribeiro, Gizele Oliveira and Rose Bertram, pictured left to right, were also paid to promote the event on Instagram
Fyre festival was heavily promoted on social media and billed as ‘the cultural experience of the decade’ touting plush villas and gourmet food. However, the project completely fell apart due to lack of funds, and guests arrived at a barren island with inadequate food, water, or shelter
McFarland was blamed for the failure of the highly-anticipated music festival which was set to take place in the Bahamian island of Exuma over the course of two weekends in 2017