Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland requests early prison release due to coronavirus

The Fyre Festival mastermind was sentenced to six years in Elkton federal prison, Ohio in 2018, and on Tuesday (14 April), The Hollywood Reporter reports that McFarland requested an early release from prison due to health concerns with coronavirus.

McFarland asked (via his lawyers) U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Buchwald for an early release due to his pre-existing health conditions, which "make him particularly vulnerable to catching and suffering from severe or fatal consequences of the virus."

The entrepreneur pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in March 2018, and became the subject of two huge Fyre Festival documentaries on Netflix and Hulu.

A letter reads, "Mr. McFarland is not a risk to the community nor a threat to public safety. The crime to which he pled guilty for was the non-violent financial crime of wire fraud. However, he is a low risk of recidivism for such financial crimes as he has explained that he has a supportive family that has attested to providing for his basic needs."

The letter also emphasises McFarland's health issues, "he has pre-existing conditions that make contracting COVID-19 easier, and which increase his potential to suffer severe health issues and death if he does so, including being diagnosed with asthma as a teenager." His lawyers also note that McFarland has experienced heart issues while in prison, and is on the "extreme scale of the allergy spectrum".