U.S. Marshals are auctioning promotional hats, clothing, tokens and rubber wristbands left over from the disastrous 2017 Bahamas Fyre Festival fraud scheme as a way to raise forfeiture funds from incarcerated organizer Billy McFarland, the agency said.
Objects for sale in the online auction, which ends August 13th, include shirts, t-shirts, jogger sweatpants and baseball caps emblazoned with the Fyre Festival logo. Prices quickly escalated with items originally listed for $15 now fetching $300 or more by Monday.
The festival, billed as an ultra-luxurious event and “the cultural experience of the decade,” was supposed to take place over two spring 2017 weekends on the Bahamian island of Exuma. Models and celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski had promoted it on social media.
Customers who paid $1,200 to over $100,000 hoping to see Blink-182, Ja Rule, Migos, Major Lazer and other acts arrived to learn musical acts were canceled. Guests expecting luxury villas, private yachts, five-star chefs and gourmet meals on a private island found only improvised FEMA tents and box lunches with cheese sandwiches in a parking lot.
Festival-goers were stranded on the island and the experience was compared to William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. The festival was canceled, resulting in multiple civil lawsuits from investors and attendees. The festival was the subject of documentaries on both Netflix and Hulu.
McFarland was charged with wire fraud and defrauding more than 80 investors in his companies causing more than $26 million in losses. He was sentenced to six years in prison, and is scheduled to be released in 2023.
Ja Rule, who was originally described as a co-organizer of the event, last year claimed he had also been scammed by McFarland.
Check out the auction at txauction.com.