Did Ja Rule knew that Fyre Festival was an elaborate scam from the beginning?
Remember the infamous ‘Fyre Festival‘ in 2017 that was heavily promoted and endorsed by several celebrities but never happened? Some of the stars who were affiliated with the marketing were blamed for the fraudulent event but later relieved of all accountability. Ja Rule is now facing some potential legal problems in light of new evidence that allegedly proves he was, in fact, aware that the music festival was a scam.
According to AllHipHop, a group of irate fans have filed an amended complaint stating that they have uncovered new evidence that Ja Rule knew the event was doomed from the very beginning. Just one day prior to the advertised date for the event, Ja Rule tweeted, “The stage is set!!! In less than 24 hours the first annual fyrefestival begins #festivallife…” Though a previous class-action lawsuit was brought against Ja Rule by celebrity attorney Mark Geragos in 2017, it was later dismissed due to insufficient evidence. On October 10, attorneys at Mark Geragos’ firm filed the amended complaint with the new evidence.
The extensive lawsuit would have covered thousands of people who purchased tickets for the fraudulent event that was reportedly charging up to $100,000 per person and even promising round-trip flights from the Miami International Airport as well as other perks. When patrons started to arrive in Great Exuma, Bahamas, only to be greeted with the atrocity that was the ‘set stage,’ it was a tremendous disaster.
“Defendant Atkins knew, at the time of this post, that the representation in the social media post was false as the stage was not set as the performers had either been told by Defendants, including Atkins, not to attend or had canceled,” attorney Ben J. Meiselas said in new court documents.
“Atkins clearly held himself out as co-founder of the Festival, and the public reasonably interpreted his public statements regarding the Festival as a reliable source of information,” the attorney added.
Ja Rule reportedly advised the performers not to attend the event while some fans were still purchasing tickets after seeing his public message. There was not a celebrity or even a stage in sight when guests arrived at the Fyre Festival on the Caribbean Island. “Troublingly, before Plaintiffs and other ticket holders had arrived, these Defendants urged artists to not attend due to the dangerous and uninhabitable conditions that were present at the event venue,” Meiselas stated. “As a result of relying on the tweet, Mr. Abbas Ali had to spend a frightening evening on the island, where the Fyre Festival campsite was full of frantic attendees who were fighting over tents, where there was a basic lack of provisions, and where attendees were exposed to the elements,” he added about the Plaintiffs.
The lawsuit further states that Ja Rule was prohibited from ever organizing an event in the Bahamas again by the Bahamian government. The event founder, Billy McFarland, was indicted for fraud in 2018 and is currently incarcerated at FCI Otisville with the penalty of a six-year sentence and $26 million in restitution. In the new lawsuit, the organizers are being sued for four crimes, including fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Ja Rule still denies any involvement with the messy ordeal.
