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Billy McFarland, 28, is serving a six-year sentence at Elkton Federal Correctional Institution in Lisbon, Ohio.
McFarland pleaded guilty in March 2018 to wire fraud charges in connection with swindling 80 investors out of $26 million. He also was the subject of two documentaries — one on Netflix and the other on Hulu — about the Bahama-based music festival.
McFarland's plea for compassionate release was filed Tuesday by his lawyers to U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Buchwald, according to court documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap.
In the court documents, McFarland’s lawyers described him as a non-violent offender, arguing that his medical history of asthma, severe allergies, and heart issues put him at a severe risk should he contract COVID-19 in prison. The lawyers asked that McFarland be released to home confinement.
Four inmates have died due to COVID-19 complications at the Ohio prison, McFarland's lawyers wrote, adding, “Mr. McFarland is not a risk to the community nor a threat to public safety."
Earlier this month, McFarland told the New York Post that he is starting a new project from inside prison: crowd-funding money for other inmates to be able to call their loved ones during the pandemic.
“Coronavirus is driving families apart . . . and visits are canceled across every federal prison,” McFarland told The Post. “I’m launching an initiative called Project-315 to bring together and connect in-need inmates and their families who are affected by coronavirus. We’re going to pay for calls for as many incarcerated people across the country as possible.”
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