But in a statement, he said: “I cannot emphasize enough how sorry I am
that we fell short of our goal,” adding, “I’m committed to, and working actively to, find a way to make this right, not just for investors but for those who planned to attend.”
Stacey Richman, a lawyer for Ja Rule, said that he “would never participate in anything fraudulent; it’s simply not in his DNA.”
But interviews with more than two dozen people associated with Mr. McFarland or the festival, many of whom requested anonymity
because of pending legal issues, turned up few who were surprised by the ruins in the Bahamas and beyond.
In January, Fyre Media said in company documents that it owned land in the Bahamas worth $8.4 million and had $21.6 million in revenue from December alone — claims
that one investor, Oleg Itkin, said in a lawsuit were probably fictitious.
Yet, speaking on May 2 with unnerved employees at his TriBeCa office — with its $30,000 sound system and frequent fashion-model visitors — Mr. McFarland deflected blame and vowed
that Fyre would survive to mount another festival next year.
