A New Jersey bankruptcy judge has issued an ultimatum to popular radio host DJ Envy in a case involving his criminally charged business associate: comply with a subpoena or face possible arrest.
The Breakfast Club host, whose real name is Raashaun Casey, has until Jan. 8 to produce all documents required by a court-appointed trustee in a bankruptcy case involving accused Ponzi schemer Cesar Pina’s company, Whairhouse Real Estate, which filed for bankruptcy 11 months ago, according to a Wednesday ruling by Judge Rosemary Gambardella.
DJ Envy already missed his Nov. 28 subpoena deadline, which demanded all communications and documents related to Whairhouse and another company. Pina and his wife, Jennifer, are also mentioned in the motion to compel.
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Should the three fail to provide “full and complete responses” to the request, the court will convene a hearing for a mandatory deposition and address appropriate sanctions, the judge wrote. Among those sanctions is arrest.
A lawyer for the Pinas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attorney for DJ Envy, who recently switched legal representation, also did not respond.
The threat marks the latest escalation in litigation against DJ Envy and against Pina, who has been charged in New Jersey with defrauding real estate investors out of millions of dollars.
Prosecutors allege that Pina promised clients a 20 to 45 percent return within five months of investing in his portfolio. Then he allegedly “engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme wherein he commingled victim investors’ money and used victim investors' investments to pay off prior investors and cover personal expenditures.”
DJ Envy has not been charged with a crime, but as reported by The Daily Beast, he is named in lawsuits by Pina’s investors, some of whom say they were recruited through real-estate seminars the radio host co-hosted and promoted.
After Pina’s October arrest, DJ Envy discussed his relationship with Pina on The Breakfast Club, explaining that he wanted their real estate seminars to uplift his community. He also denied allegations that he was privy to any information about Pina’s alleged misdeeds. Pina also denied any claims of wrongdoing, saying in an Oct. 24 Instagram Live that DJ Envy was never “in the room” during deals. “They call me Cesar Madoff—it’s crazy,” he said.
