DJ Envy’s former business partner Cesar Pina is reportedly considering accepting a plea deal after he was charged with defrauding dozens of real estate investors.
In court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Pina’s legal team have asked the judge for extra time as they are negotiating with prosecutors to settle the case before trial.
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In the filing, Pina’s attorneys say: “Counsel for the parties represented that this additional continuance is necessary for effective preparation and to permit the parties to attempt to resolve this case prior to indictment and thereby avoid a trial.
“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.”
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Pina, who also goes by Flipping NJ, was arrested last October in New Jersey and charged with wire fraud in relation to his and DJ Envy’s real estate ventures.
Envy — who has not been charged but is named in a string of lawsuits alongside Pina — has since distanced himself from Pina and claimed that he, too, is a victim of fraud.
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In a lengthy statement made on The Breakfast Club later that month, the DJ denied any wrongdoing: “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.”
He added: “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.”
Pina has also stated that DJ Envy was not involved with any of the real estate transactions that he is being investigated over, but has taken issue with his former partner’s claim that he is a “victim.”
In a video clip addressing the situation after his arrest, he said: “DJ Envy has nothing to do with any of these 20 lawsuits. It pisses me off that all these people are bashing DJ Envy — Funkmaster Flex, Rick Ross, every single person. DJ Envy is so successful in Hip Hop that people just don’t like him. I don’t know why.”
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He added: “DJ Envy’s attorney’s defense that DJ Envy is a victim — that’s the dumbest shit I ever heard in my life. Me and him were partners in the real estate seminars, we were partners in a couple of real estate transactions. That’s it. He’s not a victim! He was my partner, he was an investor.”
