Federal agents in New Jersey arrested the longtime business partner of popular radio host DJ Envy in connection to an alleged fraudulent real estate venture.
The arrest came a week after the News 4 I-Team reported investors claim they had been swindled out of millions of dollars.
Cesar Pina, often promoted on Envy's syndicated iHeartRadio show "The Breakfast Club," was arrested Wednesday on wire fraud. The federal complaint against Pina, 45, claims the man engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme to defraud dozens of victims.
Envy, whose real name is Rashaun Casey, was not charged. But many of the alleged victims say they were influenced by his celebrity.
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Federal prosecutors said Pina amassed a "significant" social media following through his partnership with Envy to attract his investors. Envy and Pina frequently teamed up for seminars to pitch opportunities to flip properties, often in distressed areas of New Jersey.
“As alleged in the complaint, Pina exploited celebrity status and social media to develop a devoted following of potential victims. Promising returns that were too good to be true, Pina allegedly defrauded dozens of people of millions of dollars," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a press release on Wednesday.
Investors have said Pina promised he would rehab and flip a property, with a return of 30% of the profits within months. Dozens of his alleged victims have now filed lawsuits saying they never got their money back. In a number of cases, Pina is accused of getting multiple unwitting investors to buy into one property that generated him a profit of several millions dollars.
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Pina pleaded not guilty to the fraud charge, and was released on a $1 million bond and electronic monitoring. He is not allowed to leave the state.
A source familiar with the investigation said the iHeartRadio offices were visited by federal officials who removed electronic equipment as part of the ongoing investigation.
Massimo D’Angelo, DJ Envy’s attorney, said in a statement to the I-Team that his understanding is the report that federal agents visited iHeartRadio’s offices and removed electronic equipment in connection with the investigation and charges brought against Cesar Pina is false. iHeartRadio did not respond to the I-Team’s inquiries.
D’Angelo added, “Per my client’s dismissal motions, which are a matter of public record, my client had nothing whatsoever to do with the specific deals concerning Pina’s alleged real estate scheme. As such, any reference to my client’s involvement in the purported scheme is solely for purposes of sensationalizing the case because of his celebrity status. In fact, my client is a victim, having also invested $500,000 in one of Mr. Pina’s real estate deals, without seeing any returns.”
Editor's Note (10/19 at 7 p.m.): The attorney for DJ Envy did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication, but a provided statement has since been added.
