fraud

Fyre Festival 2 Has Officially Been Announced

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Billy McFarland was convicted and jailed for fraud after the Fyre Festival debacle in 2017. The situation became quite the meme and provided months of entertainment for onlookers. However, it was likely a traumatic experience for those that attended. The pictures from the disaster were both hilarious and sad, featuring dilapidated campsites and horrific living conditions. However, four years in federal prison weren’t enough to make McFarland give up on the dream. Today, he made two big Fyre Festival announcements on his social media.

Firstly, he revealed plans for a Broadway musical titled FYRE Festival 1.5. The target audience for said musical is unclear. Additionally, he mentioned discussions with partners to repay his restitution and organize a second edition of FYRE Festival. He plans to adhere to the original vision of a destination festival in a picturesque location. McFarland expressed his intention to address unpaid debts to local vendors in the Bahamas promptly. He also emphasized the involvement of experienced music partners to handle logistics such as toilets, bathrooms, and food. So, at least this time around, anyone stranded will at least be able to eat and use the bathroom.

Read More: Can Billy McFarland Really Pull Of Fyre Festival 2?

Can Fyre Festival Really Succeed?

In an interview with YouTuber Adam Glyn, McFarland further explained his vision for the upcoming Fyre projects. He told the YouTuber that he was prioritizing the immediate payment of owed money to Bahamian vendors. The 2017 Fyre Festival was initially marketed as a luxurious music festival. However, it infamously spiraled into chaos due to numerous issues. The event was marred by travel delays, lost luggage, insufficient food, and substandard living conditions. Attendees were rightfully dismayed at the state of things. While it became popular to laugh at the situation, it really was a scam of epic proportions. That is likely why Ja Rule, who was involved with the first iteration, has distanced himself from the project.

The FYRE Festival has already been extensively documented through documentaries released by Netflix and Hulu. McFarland had also announced plans to write a book about the event while in prison. Its release is still unannounced. In 2018, McFarland pled guilty to defrauding investors of more than $27 million. He served a four-year prison sentence before being released in 2022. Hopefully, the same will not happen with Fyre Festival 2.

YouTuber ‘Omi In A Hellcat’ Gets 5 Years & Forfeits $30Mil In Cable TV Scam

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There has been a flurry of social media stars flaunting their wealth online, much like Omi in a Hellcat. The Youtube star boasts nearly one million followers, and often, he is seen showing off his luxury goods. Omi, real name Bill Omar Carrasquillo, is one of many everyday people to find success through social media influencing. A quick look at his Instagram shows him posing in front of his fleet of vehicles, flexing luxury brands, and boasting about his sneaker collection.

It looked as if he was living the good life without a care in the world. However, police say it was all an illusion, stating that the riches were acquired through an illegal cable TV piracy scam. It was labeled as one of the most “brazen and successful,” according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A Tough Sentencing For Omi In A Hellcat

Carrasquillo faced a slew of charges including money laundering, conspiracy, tax evasion, and copyright infringement. It is a far cry from the inspiring story of Omi’s rise; the Philly native has 37 siblings, and his mother passed away from a drug overdose. His drug-dealing father taught him the game when he was just 12 years old, and Omi spent much of his childhood being moved from relatives’ homes to foster care. In his 20s, he was floating in and out of the system, but he helped develop a company that soon was a multimillion-dollar business.

It’s reported that the company would provide hundreds of movies to subscribers, as well as on-demand and pay-per-view deals. Omi was said to have brought in upwards of $34 million before the authorities ended his operation. He pleaded guilty, and earlier today (March 8), he was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.

Carrasquillo Addresses The Court

Additionally, Omi has to forfeit more than $30 million in assets—which includes at least $6 million in cash. He must also turn over the luxury whips, including Porches, Lamborghinis, McLarens, and more. He further has over 12 properties that he has to give up. During sentencing, Carrasquillo apologized for his crimes and said that getting caught “saved my life.”

“I really didn’t know the significance of this crime until I was picked up [by the FBI] at my home,” he said. “I feel like I let everybody down.” When he was initially investigated, he appeared on social media to say the FBI took everything from him. He further stated he was only guilty of making money.

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Todd and Julie Chrisley Report to Federal Prisons

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The reality TV franchise Chrisley Knows Best stars Todd and Julie Chrisley reported to federal facilities Tuesday to begin their prison sentences following fraud convictions. Todd Chrisley surrendered to the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Pensacola in Florida. At the same time, Julie Chrisley arrived at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Lexington in Kentucky, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

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 Officials report Julie Chrisley’s designated location was changed on Dec. 20 from the Sunshine State’s Correctional Institution Marianna to the Federal Medical Center Lexington in Lexington, Ky, where inmates require medical or mental health care.

In June, the couple was convicted of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy by a federal jury in Atlanta. Though they faced 30 years each behind bars, they were sentenced to a combined 19 years in November. Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years, and his wife got seven years.

The undoing of the couple’s previous lives appeared around the same time as “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah faced federal prosecution before she pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Shah is scheduled to report to a federal facility on Feb. 17 to begin her 78-month term. 

The couple is best known for their show on USA Network, owned by NBCUniversal, where they star alongside their children. The future of the show has not been announced. An attorney for the couple declined to comment Tuesday, but the two stand by their claims of innocence, blaming any wrongdoing on a former employee acting without their knowledge. 

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A request to begin their sentences in three weeks was denied, as was their request for bail pending their appeal to the courts.

Julie appeared on Tuesday’s edition of their daughter Savannah’s podcast, Unlocked, which was pre-recorded.

“I have come to a place, and it’s taken me a while to get there, to know that God has a plan. God has a purpose for my pain. That this is not the end of the road for me or our family,” she said. “And that my story, at some point, I hope and pray will help someone else at their lowest.”

In the wake of their legal issues, Todd Chrisley said, “In this storm that we’re in, I feel like I’m closer to God than I’ve ever been,” as he spoke on Julie’s own Chrisley Confessions podcast just after the sentencing. “But I find myself screaming out, because, you know, in the Bible, it says to scream out to God, to cry out to God. And, you know, with what we’re going through right now, you’ve heard me do that. You’ve heard me say, ‘God, please, I’m crying out to you.’ I don’t know what else to do. I’m asking for the truth to be revealed. I’m asking for you to shed light where there is darkness. I’m asking for our enemies to be exposed.”

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Ticketmaster Apologizes For “Unprecedented” Ticket Fraud At Bad Bunny Concert

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Ticketmaster has issued an apology after hundreds of fans were denied entry into Bad Bunny’s concert in Mexico City on Friday. The company says that an “unprecedented” amount of fake tickets were sold.

In the statement, Ticketmaster explained, “the issues with access were the result of an unprecedented number of fake tickets, which led to a not normal agglomeration of people and an intermittent operation of our system.”

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – AUGUST 12: Bad Bunny performs on stage during his World’s Hottest Tour at Hard Rock Stadium on August 12, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)

“The above generated confusion and complicated the entrance to the stadium,” the statement further explained. “With the unfortunate consequence that people with legitimate tickets were denied access.”

Bad Bunny held the concert Estadio Azteca, which boasts a capacity of over 80,000. Security told fans who were denied entry that had fake, duplicated tickets, as well as canceled tickets.

At the present time, Bad Bunny is in the midst of his “El Ultimo Tour del Mundo.” The tour is currently producing some of the most lucrative concerts in history. According to Billboard, he’s grossed more than $232 million from 21 concerts in 15 cities. In the United States, his two sold-out shows at Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium rank as some of the highest-grossing concerts in the country’s history. Only George Strait’s 2014 farewell show in Arlington, Texas ranks higher.

Friday night’s Bad Bunny fiasco comes one month following Ticketmaster canceling the public on-sale date for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.” At the time, they cited “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing system.” The U.S. Senate is also investigating Ticketmaster to determine whether they maintain a monopoly over the concert ticket market.

Estadio Azteca will be hosting another sold-out Bad Bunny show on Sunday night.

Check out Ticketmaster’s apology on Twitter below.

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Detroit Rapper Creme Arrested By the Feds For $5M Fraud Case

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Detroit rapper Creme can hang up her running shoes and cool her heels after a long month on the lamb, but federal authorities finally caught up with Creme due to tax evasion charges.

Creme, whose real name is Sameerah Marrell, was scheduled to plead guilty to tax evasion charges stemming from a $5.5 million IRS case, but Merell was a no-show in court and remained on the run until she was arrested in Memphis a month latwer.

Marrell and Noelle Brown were charged with aggravated identity theft, false claims, and conspiracy in the summer of 2021 after the IRS claimed the two women filed false tax returns totaling more than $13.6 million between 2013 – 2017.

Marrell and Brown are facing ten years in federal prison if they are convicted.

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