NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A New Jersey real estate investor and influencer was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly putting together a Ponzi-like investment fraud scheme amounting to multi-millions, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Cesar Humberto Pina, 45, from New Jersey, often promoted on DJ Envy's syndicated iHeartRadio show "The Breakfast Club," was charged with wire fraud, according to the complaint filed against him.
In 2017, Pina started taking investments from his victim investors, telling them he'd use it to buy, fix up, and sell properties in New Jersey and other places. He promised big profits, like 20% to 45%, in just five months.
Rather than using the funds as promised, Pina is accused of running a scheme similar to a Ponzi scheme. He mixed the money from different people, used new money to pay back the old ones, and spent some of it on himself, prosecutors said.
The investigation suggests that Pina defrauded numerous investors out of millions of dollars.
Before the alleged scheme, he teamed up with a famous disc jockey and radio personality to organize real estate investment seminars across the nation, authorities said.
According to NBC New York, a source familiar with the investigation said the iHeartRadio offices raided by federal officials who removed electronic equipment as part of the ongoing investigation.
"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. Our office is committed to protecting the public from these schemes and prosecuting those who lie to investors for their own personal gain," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger remarked.
Following his arrest, he appeared in Newark federal court and was later released on a $1 million secured bond, which includes electronic monitoring.
Pina could go to jail for up to 20 years and have to pay a fine of $250,000, or double the money he made from the fraud, or double the money his victims lost, whichever is more.
Envy, whose real name is Rashaun Casey, was not charged.
“They’re sensationalizing this situation,” Envy’s lawyer, Massimo F. D’Angelo of the law firm Blank Rome, told Billboard. “Envy had no involvement whatsoever. The only reason he’s being dragged into this is because he’s a public figure.”