Fyre Festival merch to be auctioned by federal government to reimburse fraud victims

Two boxes of official merchandise from 2017's doomed Fyre festival are set to be auctioned off in a bid to help raise money for some of those who were fleeced by organiser Billy McFarland.

McFarland is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for his part in the festival and other charges, and owes around $26 million to investors and others who worked on the festival. 

Amongst the items set to be auctioned off are t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, hats and wristbands, with the government hoping that the online attention around the festival - including that garnered by two recent documentaries on the failed event - will raise some money for those who lost out as a result of McFarland's scams. 

In an email to Vulture, a spokesman for the United States Marshals Service in Manhattan said: "We know that there is tremendous interest in these items in the NY metro area in particular. The auction won't come close to covering the total of what McFarland owes to investors and others but it's thought that they will get a cut of the proceeeds from the sales based on what they lost. It's not yet known when the auction will take place. 

Last month, McFarland was ordered to pay $3 million to EHL Funding, one of his former investors, while it was also revealed that a spoof film on the festival was in the works starring Seth Rogan.

Over £120,000 was raised for Maryann Rolle in January. A local that worked on the festival, she revealed in Netflix's documentary on Fyre that she was forced to use part of her life savings to pay staff members after the event failed.