Suit calls music event a ‘get-rich-quick scam’

LOSANGELES— Litigation is piling up against organizers of the Fyre Festival that flamed out in a fiasco.

Angry participants lashed out on social media with the hashtag #fyrefraud as the music festival fell apart inApril— and fraud is the first claim in a $100 million class-action suit.

The suit amended earlier this month in federal court on behalf of a Los Angeles man said the events planned over twoweekends were “nothing more than a get-rich-quick scam” akin to a Ponzi scheme that put the lives — and small fortunes — of thousands of participants in jeopardy.

“The festival’s lack of adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care created a dangerous and panicked situation among attendees — suddenly finding themselves stranded on a remote island without basic provisions— thatwas closer to ‘The Hunger Games’ or ‘Lord of the Flies’ than Coachella,” according to the suit filed by attorney Mark Geragos.

The lawsuit is one of several filed in the wake of the disaster that unfolded late last month when inadequate planningandfacilities led performers to bow out and organizers to cancel the show.

In the amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Geragos said 300 people had contacted his offices after the initial suit was filed last month against organizers BillyMcFarland, rapper Ja Rule, who was born Jeffrey Atkins, Fyre Media Inc. and deep-pocketed investors who provided seed money for the event.

The event promoted on social media by Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and other models and celebrities targeted well-heeled millennials with ticket packages ranging from $1,200 to more than $100,000 and promising five-star dining and luxury accommodations. Headliners included rockers Blink-182, hip-hop actMigosandthe electronic music trioMajor Lazer.

Participants arrived to find a venue partly under construction, insipid food and soggy beds under leaking tents.