Fyre Festival’s Billy McFarland Rents NYC Penthouse Despite Being Broke, Is Still Awful Person

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Billy McFarland, the 25-year-old who teamed up with Ja Rule for the disastrous Fyre Festival, was arrested by federal agents on Friday on a charge of wire fraud. He was released Saturday on $300,000 following a lengthy examination of his overly lavish lifestyle.

According to the New York Times, McFarland is making payments on a Maserati with a retail price of $110,000 and renting a Manhattan penthouse apartment for $21,000 per month. At the time of his arrest, McFarland was found with $5,000 cash on him.

Previously, McFarland had notified all Fyre Festival employee that he did not have the funds to pay them their agreed upon wages.

However, at court on Sunday, McFarland came dressed in a light blue t-shirt and black jeans and was represented  by a public defender. Assistant US Attorney Kristy Greenberg questioned whether McFarland’s larger-than-life image met the requirements to be represented by a public defender.

The Times reported that McFarland hired a crisis public relations firm and a legal team to defend him following the deluge of lawsuits that came his way after the Fyre Festival fiasco. However, his lawyers had not been paid enough to continue representation.

“There are real questions about where his money is,” Greenberg told the judge at McFarland’s bail hearing.

The young entrepreneur is facing allegations that he lied on financial-disclosure forms and defrauded investors in Fyre Media by exaggerating the company’s income, according to Business Insider. He is said to have allegedly doctored a Scottrade account statement to say that he owned $2.5 million in a company’s stock, when his position was actually worth just $1,500.

WATCH: Austin Mills' Fyre Festival Vlog [VIDEO]

Does getting joy out of the plight of Fyre Festival-goers make me a monster? Maybe.

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