By Kenadi Perry
Cesar Pina, longtime business partner and friend of DJ Envy, was arrested on Oct. 18, following the FBI raid of Envy’s office. Pina faces wire fraud charges, which could result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Pina is known for his association with DJ Envy, as much of his status and social media presence is due to Envy and his connections. Through his friendship with Envy, Pina was able to amass a significantly large following on various social media platforms, with over 300,000 followers on Instagram particularly.
Pina and Envy collectively began a business in real estate, making efforts to buy and flip houses in New Jersey. Pina eventually became a real estate mogul, going on to host seminars with Envy where they would teach attendees how to garner the same success in real estate, particularly in terms of flipping houses.
Through his ever-growing social media presence, he was able to attract investors. As a result of his ability to gain investors, he was able to obtain another business opportunity, one that would allow him to gain millions of dollars.
Those who invested in their real estate were promised 30 percent of all profits, however, they never saw a return on their investments, nor did they see any houses flipped.
Pina and Envy’s “business” allegedly was no business at all. While investors divulged their funds into what they thought was honest real estate, their funds were not actually being used in the name of proper business.
Though the two have been business partners up to this point, Envy previously claimed to have no knowledge of nor involvement with Pina’s actions.
The Breakfast Club host has not been arrested, however, he does face investigation and scrutiny, as many of the same investors who poured into their real estate profession blame Envy for their association with Pina. Investors believe that had it not been for Envy, who is essentially the connection between them and Pina, they might not have seen such a significant financial loss.
The week leading up to his friend and business partner’s arrest, Envy addressed his alleged involvement, telling all who tuned in to his radio show that he, “wasn’t privy to it, nor did [he] know.”
Envy claims his purpose behind co-hosting these seminars with Pina was to spread wealth as well as uplift his community. The radio show host expresses that ultimately, he had no ill intent or ulterior motives.
Envy went on to express that due to his desire to truly advance New Jersey communities, he did not host the seminars in vain. He explained that he brought “industry professionals to all these seminars, whether it was real estate agents from different markets, contractors, money lenders.”
Though Envy has said to be involved with Pina’s financial scheme, Pina defended his counterpart on Instagram live.
“DJ Envy was never in the room with me,” Pina expressed. “DJ Envy has nothing to do with any of these 20 lawsuits of these people who are suing me.”
What originally began as simple accusations across social media has now manifested into lawsuits, with about 30 investors coming forward claiming to be victims of Pina’s schemes. Pina is now being sued for up to $40 million. Not only have the investors claimed to take heavy losses as a result of choosing to work with Pina, but Envy has as well, saying he lost about half of a million dollars by investing with Pina as well.
Envy is listed in one lawsuit as Pina’s co-defendant, while various other reports include a description of a famous disc jockey who doubles as a radio personality. Pina also denies public claims that Envy was a victim of his fraudulent actions as well, stating that he was merely an investor.
