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    DJ Envy Is About to Go Radio Silent

    By 5 Mins Read
    Image credit: ShutterShock

    If what the gentrified streets say is true, Cesar Pina is definitely going to jail and popular morning radio host of The Breakfast Club, DJ Envy, is probably on his way to the chokey as well.

    Pina—a real estate ‘mogul’ who claimed to have $50 million in wealth—was essentially involved in a Ponzi scheme that claimed at least 30 victims (including a victim of sexual assault who used hundreds of thousands of dollars from her settlement to try and give her and her son a better future) totaling millions of dollars. While Pina is pretty much caught red and green-handed, DJ Envy is now feigning any knowledge of the deals and being personally involved in stealing people’s money, even though Joe Budden knew that sh-t was a Ponzi scheme from the get-go, somehow the person actually involved in it was unaware. 

    Not so fast, though Envy. When you use your fame, name and your platform to sell people a dream that they cannot cash out, you are indeed responsible. 

    There is no way that the man whose office was right next to Pina’s, who ‘we, we, we, and us, us, us’ed’ all over Instagram and was right there with a microphone in his hand at costly seminars, is not somewhat responsible. In fact, DJ Envy claims to have lost a substantial amount of money in the process, as well, which is interesting because if he were one of the earlier investors—then why did he continue to support—even if just allowing the use of his name alone, Pina at least until last year?

    Let’s just say DJ was not aware that his friend was a slimeball. Why did he not use that same platform to tell people to stop investing with Pina? Why did he not give people a warning? Why was he not vocal about severing ties to Pina when he had the chance?  DJ Envy has been vocal about his innocence though and is adamant that he did not receive any money. How do you not receive money for a business venture you are a part of is beyond me. How are you claiming to own various properties yourself and are not aware of the intake or loss of money on a venture in which you have your name? How have you never looked at the book that was signed with your name?

    While some of the investors were just gentrifiers, and I would not say deserve to be scammed but receive a bit less sympathy from me, some, as previously mentioned, invested money that they really could not stand to lose. Some of the people and real estate firms that also invested should have known that a 30% return on an investment is far too good to be true. Even though interest rates are high, if someone reports that they are worth $50 million and you believe them, why are they not capable of getting a much better loan from a bank?

    One of the craziest parts about the crime was that there were multiple people investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the same property.  We are not talking about buying the Ritz either. One of the properties was purchased for less than $130,000. What kind of flipping were you doing on a $130,000 property in Patterson, NJ, that was going to yield hundreds of thousands of dollars in return? Some of the properties that people were investing in, Pina did not even own. 

    You mean to tell me that DJ Envy never went by these properties that were just across the river from his job? 

    One of the properties was to start construction on it before the pandemic even started and DJ Envy had this man on his Instagram last year, and yet there is still no construction?

    Pina, who posted a million-dollar bond (where he got the money, we may never know), is facing up to 20 years in prison for a host of crimes, including wire and mortgage fraud. Cesar Pina mentioned that he learned about real estate from his mentor while he was in jail, so I’m sure he is just going back to get more tips, and from the looks of it, DJ Envy will be learning lessons the hard way, right alongside his friend.

    Kyla Jenée Lacey is an accomplished third-person bio composer. Her spoken word has garnered tens of millions of views, and has been showcased on Pop Sugar, Write About Now, Buzzfeed, Harper’s Bizarre, Diet Prada, featured on the Tamron Hall show, and Laura Ingraham from Fox News called her work, “Anti-racist propaganda.”. She has performed spoken word at over 300 colleges in over 40 states. Kyla has been a finalist in the largest regional poetry slam in the country, no less than five times, and was nominated as Campus Activities Magazine Female Performer of the Year. Her work has been acknowledged by several Grammy-winning artists. Her poetry has been viewed over 50 million times and even used on protest billboards in multiple countries. She has written for large publications such as The Huffington Post, BET.com, and the Root Magazine and is the author of "Hickory Dickory Dock, I Do Not Want Your C*ck!!!," a book of tongue-in-cheek poems, about patriarchy....for manchildren.

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