Uncovering DJ Envy's Alleged Real Estate Ponzi Scheme: Full Details

Things are heating up for The Breakfast Club co-host, along with his former business partner Cesar Pina. Here's the latest on their alleged involvement in a real estate ponzi scheme.

In late September, DJ Envy (real name RaaShaun Casey) along with Pinas were slapped with a hefty lawsuit filed by Anthony Barone and Anthony Martini. The plaintiffs allege they were defrauded of $1.5 million in an apartment complex project that never materialized. The lawsuit focused on investments made in two real estate ventures, the Taylor Company and Flip 2 Dao, which Envy and the Pinas allegedly mishandled.

Envy is also accused of purchasing properties in Paterson, New Jersey, undervaluing them, and engaging in profit-making schemes through flipping and renting, all while funding his lavish lifestyle and settling debts with other investors.

Despite the claims, DJ Envy has maintained that he too, is a victim - with all fingers pointing at Cesar and Jennifer Pina. In August, the radio personality responded by filing a motion asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice.

Court documents, obtained by The Shade Room, reveal DJ Envy's response to the lawsuit, emphasizing he has never been employed by or served as a representative of either the Taylor Company or Flip 2 Dao - despite being listed as a founder. He believes the inclusion of his name in the lawsuit is merely an attempt to exploit his celebrity status for sensationalism.

Cesar Pina, co-accused with Envy, has supported this claim, affirming that Envy had no official role within Flip 2 Dao and that he, along with Anthony Barone and his wife, were the sole members of the company.

Further, DJ Envy contends he invested $500,000 in a separate project with the Pinas, aimed at renovating and repurposing a former school into an apartment building - with the promise to return his initial investment within one year, in monthly dividends of around $17,000 - but they left him hanging. By August, the claims against the Pinas had hit double digits.

Earlier this month, during a segment of The Breakfast Club Envy took the allegations head-on, saying, "Let me explain some things. So Cesar and myself did seminars. Now, the reason I did these seminars is because I wanted to uplift my community. I wanted to teach my community about real estate. Things that I didn’t know when I was buying my first home."

“So I did these seminars and brought industry professionals to all these seminars, whether it was real estate agents from different markets, contractors, money lenders. I even brought Auction.com to actually show people how to purchase houses online.”

He continued: “Now Cesar, if he took money, I wasn’t privy to it nor did I even know. But I do understand how people feel if they did give him money because I gave him a lot of money that I didn’t see a dollar of return.

“For anybody to say I was involved, that’s totally not true. I would never. I’ve been on radio close to 30 years and never in my 30 years’ time did I do nothing but try to uplift people… And I would never take a dollar from somebody.”

A celebrity house-flipper by trade, it is believed that Cesar Pina partnered with Envy in order to cast a wide net. On Wednesday (October 18) Pina was arrested on federal charges that he perpetrated “a multimillion-dollar Ponzi-like investment fraud scheme.”

Federal authorities, as reported by Billboard, have indicated that Pina employed his celebrity status and social media presence to cultivate a dedicated following of potential victims. Under the guise of "promising returns that were too good to be true," Pina is alleged to have "defrauded" dozens of individuals, causing them to lose millions of dollars.

In response, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger emphasized their commitment to safeguarding the public from such fraudulent schemes and prosecuting those who deceive investors for personal gain.

It's important to note that DJ Envy has not been implicated in any criminal charges and is not facing accusations of wrongdoing. Notably, prosecutors mentioned that Pina had partnered with a prominent "celebrity disc jockey and radio personality," referred to as "Individual-1," to enhance his public image.

“Together, they used Individual-l’s celebrity to promote various real estate enterprises that Pina controlled,” the complaint reads. “Pina represented that he was a highly successful real estate investor, owned thousands of properties in multiple states, and had business relationships with numerous celebrities.”