Kendall Jenner's Company & Top Modeling Agencies to Be Subpoenaed Over Fyre Fest Promotion
The fallout from the ill-fated Fyre Festival continues to unfold.
On Monday, a federal judge ruled that a slew of talent agencies -- representing high-profile models such as Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Baldwin and Elsa Hosk, among many others -- could be subpoenaed in relation to the music festival's bankruptcy proceedings.
According to court documents obtained by ET, the trustee overseeing the proceedings, Gregory Messer, asked courts to subpoena 24 parties, called "examinees," including IMG Models, DNA Model Management, Kendall Jenner INC, United Talent Agency and others, to determine the nature of their involvement with the event.
Specifically, the subpoenas were requested to look into how those models and their respective agencies were paid to promote the festival on social media by the festival's founder Billy McFarland.
McFarland was arrested and charged with wire fraud in June 2017, and was later convicted in October 2018 after which he was sentenced to six years in prison. Prosecutors have reportedly claimed that he defrauded investors and funders to the tune of possibly $26 million.
According to the most recent court documents, Messer's primary obstacle in determining the extent of the Fyre Festival LLC's finances stems from McFarland's incarceration, meaning all information regarding the company's financial records have to be obtained from third parties -- in this case, those who were paid hefty sums to promote the event.
According to the documents, Jenner's company was paid $275,000 for services including promoting the festival on Instagram, while United Talent Agency was paid $90,000, DNA Model Management LLC was allegedly paid $299,000, and IMG Models (representing Baldwin and Hadid, among others) received over $1.2 million.
Among the other 24 "examinees" who are to be subpoenaed are a number of vendors for the festival, which took place on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma in late April and early May 2017. All told, this latest round of subpoenas are looking into a grand total of $5.2 million spent by the festival and McFarland.
This latest development in the Fyre Festival bankruptcy proceedings comes just a few weeks after the release of two separate investigative documentaries on the disastrous music non-event, produced by Hulu and Netflix.
For more on the doomed Fyre Festival and its subsequent drama, check out the video below.
-- Additional reporting by Angelique Jackson.
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