Models Face Subpoenas Regarding Missing Fyre Festival Funds
Kendall Jenner and a few IMG Models who helped promote the Fyre Festival are getting caught up in a legal mess.
A judge signed off on multiple subpoenas Monday relating to the Fyre scandal.
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Among those in question are Kendall Jenner and model management firms IMG Models and DNA Model Management. Jenner, along with IMG and DNA models, such as Bella Hadid, Elsa Hosk and Emily Ratajkowski, helped publicize the festival in 2017 by way of advertisements and social media.
After the event went awry — and the founder William McFarland went to jail — investors have been left to piece together exactly what happened.
But Gregory Messer, the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Fyre Media, told a judge this task has been “challenging” considering the lack of basic disclosures, bankruptcy schedules and a statement of financial affairs from McFarland and Fyre Media. He requested a judge to issue subpoenas to several people he believes received funds from the event.
“The Trustee has had to obtain all information regarding the [Fyre Media’s] financial affairs from third parties,” the court documents state.
Most notable, the trustee discovered payments totaling more than $5.2 million were paid to multiple recipients. Of the 24 people in question, Fyre Media paid each one no less than $90,000.
“The Trustee believes that these transfers were made from funds that belong to the [Fyre Media] in connection with the Fyre Festival,” according to court documents and say the recipients are needed for questioning “to gain a full understanding of the reasons for these transfers.”
IMG Models received more than $1.2 million, according to court documents. Jenner received $275,000. Other recipients included vendors such as musicians, caters and consultants.
IMG declined to comment.
The Fyre Festival was billed as an exclusive weekend event with gourmet food, luxury accommodations and world-class concerts in the spring of 2017. The event was set for two consecutive weekends on the remote island of Exumas in the Bahamas.
McFarland organized the event by way of his company Fyre Media.
Bikini-clad models helped spark the fear of missing out among festival goers with advertisements and social media posts depicting them frolicking on yachts and tropical beaches. Consumers paid up between $1,000 and $12,500 for a ticket, hoping to enjoy the exclusive event.
“Instead, ticket holders showed up to an unplanned, unorganized, disaster-stricken area that was far from the reality that [Fyre Media] promised in their promotional advertising of the event,” according to May 2017 court documents.
McFarland pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud in 2018 and is currently serving a six-year prison term in New York State.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman released a statement after McFarland was sentenced saying investors and customers lost about $26 million in the scam.
Jenner could not immediately be reached for a comment.
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