Rodney Ferrell trained for months and spent more than $4,000 on airfare, hotel, car rental and other expenses to travel to Miami Beach for the 2017 World OutGames, according to his attorneys.

The Los Angeles television producer and tennis player came to South Florida for what was billed as a 10-day event beginning May 26 and showcasing LGBTQ athletes from 59 countries.

But only hours before the official start, Ferrell and thousands of other participants learned organizers had botched spending, canceled the opening and closing ceremonies, and could no longer host many of the conferences and social gatherings.

Now, Ferrell is the lead plaintiff in a putative class action filed by South Florida and California attorneys against the organizers — the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association, OutGames founder Ivan Cano, chief financial officer Keith Hart and Miami Beach-Miami LGBT Sports & Cultural League Inc., also known as World OutGames Miami 2017.

“He chose to come forward in part because nobody else has,” said South Florida class counsel Marc A. Wites of the Wites Law Firm in Lighthouse Point. “It's an effort to speak out for the athletes and people from all over the country who … trained and spent money to come to an event that was billed as a spectacular extravaganza when all along the promoters knew it was never going to come to fruition.”

The five-count complaint filed in Miami federal court alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of implied contract, violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

The lawsuit claims organizers knew they could not deliver but continued to promote a dazzling array of attractions. A three-day Global Conference on Human Rights, for instance, was supposed to feature more than 50 speakers, and a cultural program would include art, dance, music, literary and vocal music offerings from around the world. Celebrities including Omar Sharif Jr. and Tito Puente Jr. were slated to entertain during the opening ceremony.

Instead, news reports soon emerged showing organizers raised more than $1 million but spent more than $600,000 on consulting, advertising and promotional fees. Miami Beach police found no “malicious intent” and declined to file criminal charges

OutGames did not respond to requests for comment by deadline, and no attorney has entered an appearance on the organizers' behalf in the suit filed Feb. 19.

Meanwhile, class co-counsel Darin T. Beffa of Beffa Law in Los Angeles drew comparisons to the ill-fated and high-priced Fyre Festival, which organizers had pitched as “Coachella in the Bahamas,” with tickets costing up to $12,000 a piece.

“It's sort of a strikingly similar situation,” Beffa said.

Fyre unraveled when attendees discovered that instead of private luxury villas, organizers had provided carpeted tents with outdoor toilets. At least four class actions against the music festival's organizers are pending in Florida, New York and California.

The OutGames litigation was assigned to U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.