‘Breakfast Membership’ host DJ Envy is being sued for alleged investment fraud

Standard radio character DJ Envy of Contemporary York-basically based entirely entirely Energy 105.1 FM has come below fire for his connection to accused exact estate investment fraudster Cesar Pina.

DJ Envy has not been arrested or charged with any crimes, however he is being sued by on the least 9 parties who stated that without Envy’s vouching, they never would had been scammed by Pina.

Victims of the alleged design stated they were duped into believing exact estate investments thru Pina were legitimate basically based entirely entirely on The Breakfast Membership co-host’s endorsement.

DJ Envy, born RaaShaun Casey, had for years partnered with Pina – who goes by Flipping_NJ on social media – to host exact estate investment seminars at some stage within the country and customarily promoted Pina as a exact estate genius on the syndicated morning radio program.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Prison expert’s discipline of work of Contemporary Jersey announced the arrest of Pina and alleged he dedicated a multimillion-dollar exact estate investment Ponzi design relationship encourage to 2017.

“The defendant ran a faux design”

“Pina exploited celeb space and social media to fabricate a right following of doable victims,” U.S. Prison expert Philip R. Sellinger stated within the criticism.

Pina, the discipline of work stated, would affirm lenders titanic payoffs for their investments in purchasing and remodeling projects. Then, as soon as he had the money in hand, he would use that money as a change on paying off outmoded money owed and personal expenditures.

“Simple and uncomplicated, the defendant ran a faux design,” Tammy Tomlins, Special Agent in Payment of IRS – Prison Investigation Newark Field Say of industrial, stated in a assertion. “They falsely represented the character of their commercial and lied about doable investment returns to bilk unsuspecting victims out of thousands and thousands.”

Envy used to be moreover now by some means named within the criticism, with the district attorney’s discipline of work writing:

“Pina partnered with a celeb disc jockey and radio character to behavior exact estate seminars around the country. Through these seminars, self-promotional efforts, and diversified advertising methods, Pina developed a important social media following.”

Pina is reportedly now out on a $1 million bond and just isn’t allowed to leave the command of Contemporary Jersey. If convicted of wire fraud, he faces Two decades in penal complex and a stunning of $250,000.

“These are working class of us. These are not affluent folks,” stated Alexander Schachtel, the attorney representing 9 claimants in opposition to DJ Envy, Pina and others they accuse of being in on the design.

“Some of these other folks lost their lifestyles savings.”

Schachtel stated that by attaching his title to Pina’s and introducing the accused scam artist to The Breakfast Membership’s wide viewers, Envy has a accountability to are looking ahead to the victims recompensed.

“He needs to know that would possibly possess to you retain your self out and you expose participants of the public who belief as a lot as you, who listen to your radio point out, who lunge to seminars that you just co-host with Cesar Pina, that hear you on social media, on the radio, in person, describe your self as Cesar’s commercial partner and tout Cesar Pina’s exact estate abilities and in any other case endorse and boost and keep your self out to other folks as Cesar’s partner, that which that you just would possibly per chance per chance be attaching your self to Cesar as as a matter of law,” he stated.

Schachtel infamous that a disproportionate different of these who stated they were duped are Unlit and Latino males – The Breakfast Membership’s core demographic.

Envy tried to distance himself from claims of impropriety

Since Pina’s arrest, Envy has tried to distance himself from any claims of impropriety.

“Cesar – if he took money, I wasn’t conscious of it, nor did I even know,” Envy stated on a contemporary episode of The Breakfast Membership.

Envy stated that he used to be speaking in opposition to his lawyer’s advice and that the motive he started hosting exact estate seminars used to be to “uplift [his] neighborhood” and to educate others methods to attain generational wealth.

Envy, in spite of the whole lot, in keeping with his attorney, fell prey to Pina’s schemes as mighty as any person.

“DJ Envy is a victim himself,” stated Envy’s attorney, Massimo F. D’Angelo.

D’Angelo stated that Envy invested $500,000 in a parcel of right estate with Pina, on which he never saw a return.

“Of direction, he is a double victim,” D’Angelo persevered, announcing that as well to shedding his investment, Envy has been field to unhealthy actors who’re “factual making an strive to form a profit and sensationalize the case by making an strive to attach his title to it.”

The assertion that Envy is a victim within the design – not a perpetrator – is offensive to these suing, stated Derik Deangelo.

Claimant asks why DJ Envy did not alert the public unless the feds got concerned

“That is factual the wolf playing victim,” Deangelo stated.

Deangelo is undoubtedly one of many 9 claimants the attorney, Schachtel, is representing within the suit that involves Envy.

Deangelo stated that final Twelve months he took out a $100,000 mortgage in opposition to his house to make investments with Pina. It used to be sometime this summer season that he realized he had been scammed.

“It be more or much less taken away my lifestyles,” Deangelo stated.

In repeat to pay encourage the mortgage, Deangelo stated, he needed to dump the autos he had been the use of to kickstart a minute rental commercial. And if Envy had already faced shedding money with Pina, Deangelo wonders why the radio host did not alert the public unless the feds got concerned.

“Now which that you just would possibly per chance per chance be playing victim since you are looking ahead to the whole proceedings flying around. The attach used to be all this files a couple of years within the past,” Deangelo stated.

“Presumably when you happen to played victim a Twelve months within the past and stated, ‘Cesar owes me $500,000,’ I would possess never invested with Cesar.”