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Ja Rule Requested by Bankruptcy Trustee to Take Responsibility for Debts in the Fyre Fest Fiasco

Posted: Tuesday, November 28th, 2017 at 10:27 pm

Fyre fest, the famous festival that never was. Ja Rule is now on the hook for the infamous festival and all the debts it acquired from April of 2017.

Billy McFarland and Ja Rule who’s real name is Jeffery Atkins, are being requested by Gregory M. Messer, the appointed trustee in the liquidation of Fyre Fest, to be responsible for $530,000 in loans borrowed for the event.

Ever heard of Fyre fest? It was advertised as a luxury two weekend music festival in the Bahamas. Some of the advertised luxuries were top shelf liquor, chef made catered meals, and living areas that would be fully furnished. The cost would set the festival goer back a few thousand dollars for this royal treatment and “cultural experience of the decade”. However, when people arrived they found little water, not enough food, and unsafe conditions. Instead of fully furnished dwellings they found disaster relief tents, it took hours if not days to get off the island.

In August Fyre fest filed for bankruptcy, for months McFarland was making headlines in criminal and civil lawsuits, not guilty please to event ticket schemes, and attorneys who were done with the entire situation.

Ja Rule was the celebrity name attached to the festival and co founder in business with McFarland has been missing in action during the scandal up to this point in the case. After Fyre Fest fell apart, Ja Rule took to social media to tell his fans “NOT [HIS] FAULT”, according to Atkins counsel his “role was primarily to bring the artistic idea to life,” and after hearing of McFarlands criminal allegations they stated their client was uninvolved in the business side.

However, McFarland and Atkins are already facing quite a few lawsuits together, which includes a $100 million class action suit.  Motions filed by Messer last week were asking the judge to allow him to designate co-founders Billy McFarland and Atkins as the “persons responsible for performing the obligations of the debtor” and he is also requesting they provide their bank records, company ledgers, and “information from all of the parties in order to put together an accurate snapshot of the debtor’s finances in the run-up to the Fyre Festival debacle”.

The motion filed “would also allow Messer to go after the pair — who have apparently not responded to the bankruptcy case at all since it was filed — for civil or criminal contempt of court, and refer the case to the U.S. trustee for a criminal investigation.”

“There’s really no way to get this moving other than to get some motions on file, and compel the principals to do as required under the code and turn over the books and records,” according to special litigation counsel to the trustee Fred Stevens of Klestadt Winters Jureller Southard & Stevens LLP.

 

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