The prolific scam artist behind the "Fyre Festival of pizza" may have duped his last foodie.
Ishmael Osekre, whose infamous 2017 pizza debacle outraged hungry New Yorkers and drew national attention, has been permanently banned from producing events in the state. He will also have to pay more than $300,000 in restitution and penalties for his deceptions, which include a similarly ill-fated burger event and an "epic disaster" African food festival.
The order was signed by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Francois Rivera, following a four year investigation that began under Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and was concluded by Letitia James.
“Ishmael Osekre’s fraudulent schemes were an epic recipe for disaster that scammed New Yorkers out of their time and money,” James said in a statement. “Today’s order bans this shameless individual from ever carrying out this type of illegal business in our state.”
Osekre first drew legal scrutiny in September of 2017, after charging attendees up to $74 each for entrance to a NYC Pizza Festival that promised to be a "day long celebration of the dough, cheese, tasty sauces and delicious toppings." Instead, attendees found themselves waiting in a mostly empty parking lot for a handful of cold pies cut into razor thin slices.
"It was like the people from Fyre Festival decided to throw a pizza party," one festival guest told Gothamist at the time. Another said that he had "paid $75 for a slice of pizza smaller than my palm."
Investigators found that Osekre had pulled a similar bait-and-switch at the 2016 African Food Festival. Ticket sellers such as EventBrite and GoldStar ended up refunding 1,100 attendees, even as Osekre made off with more than $100,000 in revenue, officials said.
His "Hamburger Festival" — which was scheduled for the same date and time as the pizza event, but included no burgers — was perhaps the most duplicitous.
In several instances, according to the Attorney General, Isekre "cheated the production staff, vendors, and contractors that he hired for the events by not paying them or issuing bad checks."
Around $110,000 of the fines will be returned to customers, while $150,000 will go to the state. He will be required to pay off the financial obligations and obtain a $500,000 performance bond in order to work at any festival or event, according to James.
Osekre could not be reached for comment.
