DJ Envy’s former business partner Cesar Pina entered plea deal negotiations in an investment fraud case. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Judge Leda Dunn Wettre ordered a continuance to allow prosecutors more time to work out a deal with Pina on Monday (April 29).
“Plea negotiations are currently in progress, and both the United States and the defendant desire additional time to negotiate a plea agreement, which would render grand jury proceedings and a trial in this matter unnecessary,” the order noted. “Thus, the ends of justice served by granting the continuance and preventing any further non-excludable days from passing … outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.”
Pina was arrested for running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme in 2023. He was charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud.
Prosecutors accused Pina of defrauding dozens of investors of millions of dollars. Authorities said he used DJ Envy’s celebrity status to promote real estate ventures controlled by Pina, who started accepting investments from victims in 2017.
“We allege Pina offered a ridiculously high rate of return to investors, then took the millions he got and invested it in himself,” the FBI’s James E. Dennehy said. “History has proven time and again, Ponzi schemes don’t work. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow eventually runs out. Investors take note – it’s your money, don’t let them steal it.”
DJ Envy was never charged in connection to the investment scam. He denied any wrongdoing.
“Cesar, if he took money, I wasn’t privy to it, nor did I even know,” DJ Envy said. “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 anyone to say I was involved, that is totally not true.”
Last year, Pina was released on a $1 million bond. He faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud.
