Cesar Pina sought permission to drive for Uber and Lyft while he awaits trial for wire fraud in New Jersey. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Pina asked Judge Leda Dunn Wettre to modify the travel restrictions of his bond on Wednesday (August 14).
“Defendant Cesar Pina has applied to drive for Uber and Lyft and has been tentatively approved to begin work as soon as possible,” his attorney wrote. “He has provided details of this prospective employment to his Pretrial Services Officer, Stephen Griggs. Defendant respectfully requests that the Court modify his travel restrictions to permit him to travel for work as an Uber/Lyft driver in the tri-state area (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania), with the exception of travel to any and all airports in those states. I understand that, with the airports exception, this request is acceptable to Pretrial. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not responded to a request for a statement of their position on this request.”
Pina was arrested for orchestrating a real estate scam in 2023. He was charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud.
Authorities accused DJ Envy’s former business partner of operating a Ponzi-like scheme and defrauding dozens of investors. Pina allegedly used his ties to DJ Envy to legitimize the investment fraud scheme.
“As alleged in the complaint, Pina exploited celebrity status and social media to develop a devoted following of potential victims,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. “Promising returns that were too good to be true, Pina allegedly defrauded dozens of people of millions of dollars. Our office is committed to protecting the public from these schemes and prosecuting those who lie to investors for their own personal gain.”
Pina, who faces up to 20 years in prison, was released on a $1 million bond in 2023. He entered negotiations for a plea deal in April.