Ja Rule faces a trial by Fyre
Inked fest loan, now owes $3M: suit
Ja Rule is personally on the hook for a $3 million loan related to the disastrous Fyre Festival, according to a new lawsuit.
The New York-based financial firm EHL Funding LLC extended the credit to the rapper, born Jeffrey Atkins, and other festival organizers on April 10, the Manhattan Supreme Court suit says.
The borrowers were supposed to start repaying their loan just three days later — at a whopping 20 percent interest rate, according to court papers.
It’s unclear why the group needed the funds, given that the festival already had deeppocketed investors such as OkCupid founder Sam Yagan.
The Bahamas event was billed as a “luxury” music festival that was supposed to open in late April.
But it was beset by nightmarish conditions, including scant electricity and water. Attendees who had paid up to $12,000 per ticket were met with crude FEMA tents, “prison-style” sandwiches and garbage-strewn festival grounds.
Major acts such as Blink-182 pulled out of the event just before the opening day.
The organizers apologized for the debacle and promised to refund money to guests.
But now Ja Rule is among those holding the bag because he signed a personal guarantee securing the loan and other fees in case of a default, the suit says.
While Ja Rule and the others have paid back approximately $1 million on the loan, they stopped making payments after April 21, the suit says.
Full repayment is due by May 31, according to court papers.
The funding suit is at least the seventh legal action related to the festival.
Reps for Ja Rule did not immediately return calls for comment.
His partners, William McFarland and Robert Nemeth, are also named in the suit. They did not return messages.
The festival was in trouble before it even started, with performers claiming they hadn’t received promised advance payments.
The first lawsuit against the festival was a $100 million class-action claim filed in California by an attendee.
That suit seeks damages on behalf of all the concertgoers for “lack of adequate food, water, shelter and medical care.”