Former employees who worked for the con man behind the disastrous Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland, are warning people who might fall for the convicted con man’s new venture to stay away.
McFarland, 31, announced his new venture, PYRT, in a recent TikTok late last year, describing it as “virtual, immersive, decentralized reality.”
But despite the jargon, there seem to be striking similarities between this and his failed festival, which swindled around 5,000 victims out of $26 million.
Though McFarland is still in the planning stages, he doesn’t appear to have learned his lesson at a new virtual event, as he claims there will be a live stream of “artists and creators” enjoying themselves in the Bahamas.
It has resulted in former stalwart employees speaking out before McFarland gets too far ahead and likely ends in disaster.
Billy McFarland, a convicted fraudster, has touted PYRT as a “virtual, immersive, decentralized reality” on TikTok, with several notable similarities between PYRT and Fyre
‘Billy is still Billy. He uses different words, but he sells the same thing,” said Shiyuan Deng, a former product designer at Fyre Media
‘Billy is still Billy. He uses different words, but he sells the same thing,” Shiyuan Deng, a former product designer at Fyre Media, told NBC News.
“He was really good at pitching but had no technical ability,” Deng explained.
Another former Fyre Media employee was also struck by the parallels between the two ventures.
“The similarities are centered around the vaguely mysterious promotion,” said another former employee, who asked to remain anonymous.
‘PYRT appears to be an exercise in smoke and mirrors, catchphrases and empty promises of lavish trips to the Bahamas.
“As a former employee who has trusted Billy’s leadership in the past, new clients, investors and employees should all proceed with caution,” they cautioned.
But McFarland seems determined to get back in business as soon as possible.
“I spoke to someone yesterday and they said, ‘You can crawl into a hole and die, or you can go and try to do something and just not promise results,’ he told NBC.
“It’s a little crazier this time, but way bigger than anything I’ve tried before,” McFarland said in an October TikTok video.
Using a whiteboard and poster in a clip filmed at his rented apartment, McFarland explained, “PYRT is not a festival. It’s not an event. And it’s definitely not the metaverse,” the convicted con artist said in the video, before describing PYRT as a festival in the Bahamas combined with an online virtual festival.
“He was really good at pitching but had no technical ability,” said former McFarland employee Shiyuan Deng
In his vision, the project will work with a “small, out-of-the-way destination” to house a “handful of artists, content creators, entrepreneurs, and anyone of you who joins the PYRT crew.
“At the same time, others around the world can participate in a virtual recreation of the island to not only see what’s happening live, but actually join their friends to experience and even own their real-world adventures.”
McFarland suggested his newest venture is only open to the public who wish to visit it virtually. He claimed it will be held on an island in Exuma – the exact same island as the doomed Fyre festival – but he hasn’t positively identified it.
The Bahamas Department of Tourism said in a statement that McFarland has not applied to host an event in the Bahamas and the country considers him a refugee.
“The government of the Bahamas will not endorse or sanction any event in the Bahamas related to him,” the statement read.
The convicted scammer had been teasing the announcement for weeks, initially posting a cryptic video on his TikTok page teasing an event to which “everyone is invited”.
Last year, McFarland sent a letter to the government saying he was writing to apologize “profusely” for his actions.
“My primary focus is how to right the wrongs and how to make whole again the Bahamas and the Family Islands, a region that is so dear to me,” he wrote.
When asked about the island nation’s involvement in his latest project, McFarland was quick to downplay it.
“I think once everyone’s paid back I’d like to have a conversation to see if this relationship can be repaired,” he said. “It’s still a journey for me and I’m not perfect at marketing.
The scammer characterized the event at the time as a way for him to make amends for his past misdeeds and prefaced the video with an admission that he had “fucked around”.
“My answer is there’s no rush and I’ve had four or five years to really understand what I’m screwed up about and try to get help there,” he said.
“Really kind of a return to technique, which is where I think my unique skills lie,” added McFarland.
But McFarland will face hurdles no matter what he tries next. He is forbidden from ever again serving as a director of a public company.
His latest project comes just months after he was released from prison four years into his six-year sentence on wire fraud charges.
In another recent interview, he admitted that the “craziest part” of his plan was to lie to the investors who spent $26 million on the hyper-exclusive event.
This new venture also appears to be in part a plan to pay off the debt he owes to both the Bahamas government and wealthy investors, as $50 from every $250 PYRT jacket sold will go towards the reparations.
The Fyre Festival in Greater Exuma was a disaster, with guests paying more than $1,000 only to find there was no accommodation and scheduled performances were cancelled
McFarland characterized his venture as a way for him to redeem himself for his past misdeeds, and prefaced the video with an admission that he had “fucked around.”
“As you may know, I was fucking around,” he said. “And that’s why I definitely found out.”
“You might have guessed it, but I’m working on something new. It’s a little crazier this time, but way bigger than anything I’ve tried before,” he continued.
His FYRE Festival garnered widespread attention in 2017 when wealthy investors, lured by celebrity promises, flocked to the island of Greater Exuma – only to find there was no food, toilet, music or even basic accommodation.
Those paying more than $1,000 then had to struggle to get off the island, and many had to sleep in tents usually reserved for those left homeless by hurricanes or other natural disasters.
McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in 2018 and was sentenced to six years in prison. He also faced a $26 million forfeiture order.
When affluent partygoers flocked to the Bahamas in 2017, the facility was unfinished and had to sleep in tents left over from Hurricane Matthew in 2016
He has opened up about his failures in other recent interviews, admitting to the Full Send Podcast that investors told him Fyre Festival was doomed even before people came to the island.
“I kind of got caught up in this mindset that we have to go really fast. And the downside is that there are great artists in a beautiful place, but it’s not perfect,” he said of his decision not to cancel the event.
“And I didn’t understand that the downsides are that people can’t stay there. It’s like not ready. I just didn’t understand the downside,” he explained, noting that he was just beginning his career in website design.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” he admitted. “We launched like a trailer to see if anyone cares and it kind of worked. And then we said, “Okay, four months, we’ll do this.”
A photo of a sad looking cheese sandwich being handed out to guests in a styrofoam container
In a separate barbecue on Good Morning America last year, he was asked why he didn’t just cancel the event when he realized it was going to flop.
He said he was so desperate to “prove himself” to his employees and investors and refused to listen.
‘I was wrong. I messed up. I was so driven by this desperate desire to make people right,” he said.
“I had these early investors, supporters, collaborators, and I think I was so insecure that I thought the only way to prove myself to them was to succeed, and that led me down this horrible path of bad decisions. ”
“I have to apologize and that’s the first and last thing that needs to be done. I let people down,” he elaborated.
“What I said to the investors was wrong, and I think the hardest thing for me is the trust I’ve violated…whether it was friends, investors or employees, people gave up a lot to make this happen.”
“How do I call them now and look them in the eye when I’m letting them down? I really should have canceled everything and stopped lying.
“I should have listened [to my employees]. There’s no excuse.’
McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in October 2018 and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was released in March 2022 after just four years in prison