(Left to Right) DJ Envy, October 18, 2014 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Invision for REVOLT/Cesar Piña, photo via Instagram)
People tune into syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club” not only for the celebrity news and interviews with notables but also for insight from the hosts Charlamagne tha God and DJ Envy. Well, now people are wondering how much faith they can have in any financial advice or financial product backed by DJ Envy, whose real name is RaaShaun Casey. The morning show host is caught up in a real estate scandal.
He is facing a real estate fraud lawsuit involving himself and husband and wife Cesar and Jennifer Piña. The lawsuit, brought by investors Anthony Barone and Anthony Martini, alleges a defrauding scheme amounting to $1.5 million for an apartment complex project that never materialized, HipHopDX reported.
So who is Cesar Piña? Is background is reportedly dotted with criminal activity, including credit card fraud and drug-related offenses.
He walked out of prison broke, and 13 years later, he’s worth $65 million, The Jewish Voice reported.
“In 2005 he was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison. A day before he turned himself in, he married his fiancee, who was pregnant then. What would seem to be his lowest moment actually turned into a blessing,” Earn Your Leisure once described Piña’s journey. As the story goes, the New Jersey resident became good friends with a one-time real estate mogul who showed him the ropes on “flipping” houses. In flipping a house an investor purchases a property with the intention of selling it for a profit. The process sometimes calls for remodeling.
Piña sold possessions like his new wife’s ring and his automobile and got a loan from family so he could buy his first property, a small house. More than a decade later, he is said to own more than 900 living units and is hard at work building apartment complexes, The Jewish Voice reported.
He has has been featured on The Breakfast Club, Good Morning America and Billboard Magazine.
He partnered with DJ Envy in 2018 and started touring creating seminars for people who want to learn the real estate business. Their seminars took place across the Tri-State (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) area, according to Boom Bap Nation.
According to Barone and Martin, they invested in two real estate ventures—the Taylor Company and Flip 2 Dao—promoted by DJ Envy and the Piñas. However, the funds were allegedly misused without the promised projects materializing. DJ Envy is also accused of buying and undervaluing properties in Paterson, New Jersey.
DJ Envy is defending himself by saying that he, too, was an investor and that he, too, was scammed to the tune of $500,000 in a separate project with the Piñas. He denies being an employee or representative of the companies in question. Cesar Piña corroborated this, affirming DJ Envy’s non-involvement in Flip 2 Dao.
DJ Envy is looking to have his real estate fraud lawsuit tossed out and has claimed that he, too, is a victim of doing business with the Piñas.
The couple allegedly promised Envy that they would return his initial investment within one year and he would receive a monthly dividend of roughly $17,000. But, Envy has said he has yet to receive any distributions or return of capital in connection with the project.
But what the lawsuit is complaining is that in the promotion Envy did of the project on the show, Barone and Martini bit.
In 2018, Barone said he heard DJ Envy talking about his partnership with the Piñas, a partnership highlighted on Piña’s website.
Martini and Barone claim that DJ Envy and the Piñas specifically pitched them on the Taylor Apartments in 2019. According to the lawsuit, Martini soon received a formation certificate and stock purchase agreement to buy 25 percent of the project, leaving the rest to Jennifer.
Martini’s investment was earmarked for cost overruns and early operating expenses, according to the lawsuit. The Piñas allegedly claimed the project was funded with $2.5 million from Jennifer and $3.5 million in construction financing to cover the entire construction cost.
Barone bought in as well, investing $500,000 for a 12.5 percent stake, half of Martini’s investment and stake, according to the lawsuit, The Real Deal reported.
It is charged that the Piñas forged Martini’s signature on some of the documents and that the Piñas then started giving the investors the runaround regarding construction progress, blaming the pandemic. The only progress made was pouring the foundation, the investors say.
Martini wants his money back Barone also claims he enticed to another venture with the Piñas involving fractional ownership, into which the lawsuit says he invested $300,000.
(Left to Right) DJ Envy during the REVOLT Music Conference at the Fontainebleau Hotel and resort, October 18, 2014 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Invision for REVOLT/Cesar Piña, photo via Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/flipping_nj/)
