November 18, 2023
Don Omar Sues Cesar Pina Over Alleged Fraud Seeking $2 Million
Omar’s lawsuit, which lists Prime Platinum Investments as the plaintiff, alleges that Omar invested in real estate properties in New Jersey and Florida due to DJ Envy’s "stamp of approval.'
On the heels of Cesar Pina filing a $10 million defamation lawsuit against social media influencer Anthony Robinson, otherwise known as Tony The Closer, Pina has been hit with his own lawsuit from Latin music superstar Don Omar. Omar’s lawsuit, which lists Prime Platinum Investments as the plaintiff, alleges that Omar invested in real estate properties in New Jersey and Florida due to DJ Envy’s “stamp of approval.”
According to Sarah Wallace, a reporter for NBC 4 New York, the lawsuit is seeking $2 million in damages from Pina. The suit has been filed with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, which is located in Florida. As the Daily Beast reported, Omar alleges in the suit that Pina never produced “a single document relevant to the acquisition, renovation, and rental of the properties.”
Prime Platinum Investments, the company Omar owns, is suing Pina alleging breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, and unjust enrichment. Omar represents just the latest party to allege that Pina stole money from him in a Ponzi scheme, as several others have alleged that Pina used the endorsement of The Breakfast Club’s DJ Envy to facilitate access to investment money. Pina, according to the Daily Beast, was released from custody after posting a $1 million bond and has repeatedly denied allegations against him.
DJ Envy, who remains out of any legal trouble for now, is a constant figure in the lawsuits being filed against Pina as someone whom the individuals Pina allegedly swindled out of money trusted, so they, in turn, trusted Pina. According to the lawsuit, this pattern of accusations continues to hold.
“DJ Envy’s stamp of approval provided a legitimacy and platform that the Defendant Pina did not otherwise have,” the lawsuit said. “As a result of the constant public validation, especially through DJ Envy’s purported personal experiences and purported bulletproof blue-chip investments with the Defendant Pina, Landron’s interest peaked in seeking ‘generational wealth’ by building a real estate portfolio.”
According to the lawsuit, Omar and Pina engaged in a series of real estate deals that saw Omar’s company purchase real estate property through Pina’s company in Paterson, Chicago, and Miami. The lawsuit also alleges that in August 2022, Omar purchased part of Pina’s company for $2 million, and as part of the deal, Pina was supposed to buy and flip three real estate properties in Chicago in three months while also finding tenants to rent out the units. According to the lawsuit, this agreement was never honored.
“After several months of requesting documents, in an attempt to verify ownership and in exercise of due diligence, the Plaintiff Prime Platinum was stone-walled at every request and simply delayed,” the lawsuit claims. “Specifically, the Plaintiff Prime Platinum’s requests for any closing documents, deeds, renovation updates, marketing materials, and the like, were never complied with.”
Pina is also involved in a federal criminal case, in which he is alleged to have used similar methods to defraud clients. Like an episode of American Greed, the popular television program turned podcast, Pina allegedly offered clients a deal that seemed impossible to turn down. Federal prosecutors allege that Pina promised those investors a 20-45% return on investment within five months, but instead of them getting their returns, what he really did was engage in a Ponzi scheme where he paid those who invested before this group did and covered his own personal expenses. Omar’s lawyer, Carlos Friger told the Daily Beast, “Where there is smoke, there is fire.”
According to NPR, Alexander Schachtel, who represents nine people claiming that Pina defrauded them, says that DJ Envy should not be let off the hook. He also noted that most of the alleged victims of Pina’s scheme are Black and Latine men, the largest demographic of The Breakfast Club’s listeners.
Schachtel told the outlet, “He (DJ Envy) needs to realize that when you hold yourself out and you tell members of the public who look up to you, who listen to your radio show, who go to seminars that you co-host with Cesar Pina, that hear you on social media, on the radio, in person, describe yourself as Cesar’s business partner and tout Cesar Pina’s real estate expertise and otherwise endorse and boost and hold yourself out to people as Cesar’s partner, that you are attaching yourself to Cesar as as a matter of law.”
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