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Whew! It has been four years since the Fyre Festival fiasco happened, and it looks like folks who were in attendance will finally be getting some sort of payout. If y’all recall, the organizer of the festival, Billy McFarland, was sentenced to six years in prison after scamming investors out of $26 million for the bogus festival. He also left hundreds of ticket holders stranded in the Bahamas.
Since then, a class action lawsuit was filed and a settlement has finally been reached, according to PEOPLE. The $2 million settlement will award ticket holders about $7,200 each after they were left without food, water or shelter following the failed music festival.
As we previously reported, festival organizers Billy McFarland and #JaRule promised ticket holders luxury accommodations and A-list performances, which never happened. Documentaries for the festival detail that upon arrival, fans were left to sleep on mattresses in tents and barely even had water to drink.
Billy was sentenced to six years in federal prison after being found guilty of wire fraud and additional fraud charges after being caught running a fake ticket-selling scam while out on bail. Federal prosecutors said McFarland “sold fraudulent tickets to exclusive events like the Met Gala, Burning Man and Coachella. In one case, the authorities said two customers flew from Florida to New York for the Grammy Awards, only to be turned away at the door.”
Ja Rule was also involved in the Fyre Festival scam, as he was one of organizers of the event. He was accused of participating in organizing the festival knowing that it was a scam, but was cleared from fraud claims back in 2019. Judge Kevin Castle decided that Ja very well could have been hustled by Billy McFarland as well.
Do y’all think $7,000 is enough compensation for those who bought tickets for the Fyre Festival? Let us know in the comments!
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