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If you don’t know about Fyre Festival, here’s a recap: Lord of the Fyres: Tales from a Surfyrevor.
Justice is a dish best served cold, like a cheese sandwich in a styrofoam container. A $5 million judgment was made last week in Wake County against Billy McFarland, the founder of the infamous Fyre Festival. In what shall be known as “the trial of the millennials,” attorney Stacy Miller obtained the judgment for two North Carolina consumers. I was one of them.
I had a front row seat as Stacy recounted the fraud committed by the 27-year-old New York entrepreneur. McFarland already agreed to pay $26 million to investors and a ticketing company as part of a plea deal related to fraud charges brought by the FBI. In June, McFarland was charged with wire fraud and money laundering related to a DIFFERENT ticketing scam that he was allegedly running while waiting to be sentenced for his Fyre fraud charges. Stacy described McFarland’s greed as, “Pure, unadulterated greed. Greed on an epic level. A greed so disgusting that it makes headlines all the way around the world.” (Call Stacy Miller 919-348-4361 if you have questions.)
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I shared the news a few hours after the hearing.
Vice News picked up the story on Saturday. I felt slightly triggered by the use of the term “bros” in one of their Tweets, so I clarified that Mark (#heyMark) and I are not actually related.
Then The News & Observer reported that I was “popular” and that I have at least one friend.
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That’s when I started getting a lot of texts and calls on the topic. To save time, I’ve provided answers to some frequently asked questions.
Did this really happen?
Yes. We appeared in front of a judge in Wake County Superior Court on Thursday, June 28. Stacy and his team at Miller Law Group had been working on the case for a year. Stacy presented the facts and a judgment was awarded.
How much were you awarded?
The judgment was for $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages for myself, and the same for Mark, for a total of $5 million.
But you’re not going to get any of that money, right?
We intend to collect. ITBlake the intern may have to make a trip to New York soon to investigate.
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What is Billy McFarland doing now?
He is currently in jail in New York waiting for his next court date on July 26.
Are you going to buy the Lambo that keeps parking in a no parking zone on Glenwood?
No. Lambos are a waste of money.
Are you really starting a podcast?
Yes. I don’t have a start date, but it’s in production. I’ve been interviewing attendees, reporters, and others about the story. Follow along on Twitter @DumpsterFyrePod, Instagram @DumpsterFyrePodcast, and Facebook @DumpsterFyrePodcast.
Coming soon… pic.twitter.com/L4fhkhpsRf
— Dumpster Fyre Podcast (@DumpsterFyrePod) April 27, 2018
Why are you still talking about Fyre Festival?
I know there are more important things going on in the world. However, I’m still intrigued by this story, which is about a lot more than the festival and McFarland defrauding investors. You’re free to unfollow or stop reading whenever you’d like.
What does this mean for ITB Insider?
Nothing. We will continue to be the fastest growing startup media empire in Raleigh, focused on leveraging synergies to maximize engagement and meet key performance indicators. For those of you who didn’t go to business school, this just means we’ll keep writing stories and making videos of ITBlake doing dumb stuff to get views and likes that validate our existence.
Where are you putting the statue of Stacy?
In front of Broughton.
None of this would have happened if we didn’t have Stacy Miller as our attorney. I’d highly recommend him for your consumer fraud legal needs. Hopefully Billy McFarland will learn something from this. The great King White said it best:
#iTBNN PSA: Don't mess with @WNFIV @stacymillernc. https://t.co/9E2ogZTlOB
— 𝕁. 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕥𝕖 (@JKingWhite) July 1, 2018
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[…] as it unraveled under the alias William Needham Finley IV. He is also, according to an article he apparently wrote on the ITB Insider, now the owner of the Fyre Festival […]