Sold as a glamorous and exclusive event in a tropical location, Fyre Festival was hyped as a 'cultural moment created from an alchemic blend of music, art and food'. But, much to the dismay of the 8,000 people who had purchased ticket, this description couldn't have been further from the truth,
The festival, which was supposed to take place in April, was called to a halt due to an island storm which left ticketholders stranded at airports, performers pulling out and employees going unpaid.
As a result, the New York Times reports, the festival founders - Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule - are under investigation by the FBI, with ticket buyers, investors and contractors said to be possible victims of 'false advertising'. The investigation, which is exploring the possibility of fraud and cybercrime, is apparently being overseen by a prosecutor assigned to the complex frauds and cybercrime unit, so we take it that things are pretty serious.
Another source has claimed that federal agents were working with the United States attorney's office for the Southern District of New York to determine if they can find any evidence of mail, wire and securities fraud. On top of this, employees and investors have been filing lawsuits against the founders - one of the them being about the whopping $3 million dollars Ja Rule was loaned for the event, which investors are yet to receive back.
Although he refused to address the specific allegations, McFarland said: 'I cannot emphasize enough how sorry I am that we fell short of our goal. I'm committed to, and working actively to, find a way to make this right, not just for the investors but for those who planned to attend'. Stacey Richman, one of Ja Rule's lawyer, said that he 'would never participate in anything fraudulent; it's simply not in his DNA'. Tell that to all of the ticketholders and investors who lost money from the disastrous event.
After the event flopped, Ja Rule tweeted 'NOT A SCAM', 'NOT MY FAULT'. Meanwhile McFarland said that the failure of the event was a result of him and Ja Rule being 'a little naive' when organising it, and that 'next year, we will definitely start earlier'. He then went on to promise free entry to people who had purchased tickets to the 2017 event, although somehow, we can't imagine that they will want to attend again next year.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.