Fyre Festival Scammer Billy McFarland Asks for Early Prison Release

Billy McFarland, the Fyre Festival founder who scammed attendees and defrauded investors, is requesting an early release due to concerns about covid-19. He’s currently serving a six-year sentence at Elkton federal prison in Ohio.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on court documents filed by McFarland’s lawyers, who are arguing for an early release because of his pre-existing conditions, including being diagnosed with asthma as a teenager, having heart issues while in jail, and existing on the “extreme” scale on the allergy spectrum. His lawyers say they “make him particularly vulnerable to catching and suffering from severe or fatal consequences of the virus.”

At Elkton federal prison, four prisoners have already died due to coronavirus complications. And despite rising positive diagnosis rates among American prisoners across the country, efforts to release inmates are moving slowly.