Everybody remembers Fyre Festival, the doomed music event that was supposed to be a tropical getaway, rather than the island prison camp that it ended up being. Young, rich, and trendy festival goers were forced to eat jail sandwiches and were barely given any water. While those of us back home laughed at their misfortune, festival organizers Ja Rule and Billy McFarland were getting ready to face the consequences.
For Ja Rule, it's luckily been limited to humiliation on the internet. McFarland, however, has gotten into much more trouble, having been arrested in July of last year and charged with wire fraud, where he faces a possibility of up to 40 years in prison.
Almost a year later, his sentencing is about to begin, and McFarland is pleading to avoid getting any jail time. According to The Blast, he's filed a sentencing memorandum, detailing why he doesn't deserve to be locked up.
His plea essentially boils down to his age and his inexperience causing the Fyre Festival disaster. Though he claims his intentions were good, he didn't have the skills necessary to make an event like this happen. He's also gained support from Ryan Leslie, a record producer who wrote him a letter of reference.
McFarland instead asks to be put under house arrest for 6 months, 1000 hours of community service, and three years probation. He says that the fact that he's already pleaded guilty to the charges and agreed to pay back the $26 million that he owes should play into his favor.
His final sentencing should take place sometime later this month.
