The organizer of the failed Fyre Festival was arrested and charged with fraud.
Billy McFarland, McFarland, the 25-year-old entrepreneur who co-founded the festival with the rapper Ja Rule, was arrested Friday by federal agents in Manhattan. He is being charged with one count of wire fraud in a scheme to defraud investors.
The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York said McFarland induced at least two people to invest $1.2 million in two companies associated with the festival.
"McFarland promised a 'life changing' music festival but in actuality delivered a disaster," acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement. "McFarland allegedly presented fake documents to induce investors to put over a million dollars into his company and the fiasco called the Fyre Festival. Thanks to the investigative efforts of the FBI, McFarland will now have to answer for his crimes."
Hyped as "the cultural experience of the decade," the inaugural Fyre Festival _ set for the weekends of April 28 and May 5 _ aimed to bring a level of luxury unseen by any destination music event by staging the action on a remote island in Fyre Cay in the Exumas, a string of islands in the Bahamas.
What happened instead was a debacle in which McFarland, Rule and festival staff canceled the event at the last minute. Poor planning by organizers left Fyre in shambles during its first hours as guests arrived to find unbuilt tents, trash-filled grounds and food better suited for sleep-away camp.
Amenities for patrons included tents and a portable toilet.
More than a dozen lawsuits alleging fraud, breach of contract and other claims have been filed as ticket-holders await refunds.
A representative for Rule �� whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins �� said the rapper is not perceived to be a subject of the investigation.
McFarland's representatives could not be reached for comment.
Details of the case were provided via a criminal complaint that was unsealed on Friday. Among the allegations was that McFarland, who had established the firm Fyre Media and its subsidiary Fyre Festival LLC, told investors Fyre Media had "earned millions of dollars . . . from thousands of artist bookings from at least July 2016 until April 2017," according to the complaint.
Fyre Media's main source of business was an app designed to make it easier to book artists and celebrities for special events. In the time period specified, Fyre Media, according to the complaint, had actually collected $57,443 in revenue.
Additionally, the complaint alleges that McFarland supplied one investor with an altered Scottrade statement that grossly overstated his ownership of stock. The complaint says McFarland claimed to own more than $2.5 million in shares, when the figure actually was closer to $1,500.
Fyre's plans were ambitious for any first-time festival, let alone one on a remote island with no infrastructure.
Blink-182, Disclosure, Kaytranada, Migos, Rae Sremmurd, Tyga, Desiigner, Pusha T., Major Lazer and two dozen other artists and surprise guest headliners were promised.
Additionally, more than $1 million in jewelry, cash and other prizes were to be up for grabs both weekends in a festival-wide treasure hunt. Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and a bevy of supermodels promoted the event.
Some ticket packages cost upward of $250,000.
