The lead singer of New Jersey hardcore band E. Town Concrete has come forward with allegations that he has been conned out of more than a million dollars as part of a real estate scam.
Anthony Martini told New York’s NBC4 he thought he was investing in a “promising apartment project” in Patterson, New Jersey.
That project never materialized.
According to NBC4, the real estate venture was led by entrepreneur Cesar Pina and heavily promoted by DJ Envy of the radio show “The Breakfast Club.” It was Martini’s relationship with Envy that he says was the catalyst for his involvement.
“I had known Envy for years,” Martini told NBC4.
In addition to his time fronting the now defunct E. Town Concrete, Martini has also worked in management and as an executive in the music industry managing acts such as Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes and Tyga.
Martini is one of several investors who said they handed over money to Pina for real estate projects that involved renovating and flipping the homes to resell at a higher cost. NBC4 said investors were promised a return of “up to 30 percent of the profits.”
The NBC 4 report detailed several properties allegedly involved in the scheme where work never started.
DJ Envy has now come forward to say he only partnered with Pina for a series of seminars and he, too, has lost money in the venture.
“I would never take a dollar from somebody,” he says in a clip from The Breakfast Club” shared on Instagram.
Martini has since filed a lawsuit against Cesar Pina and his wife, Jennifer. Martini’s attorney, Sean Mack described the situation to NBC4 as being a “Ponzi-like scheme where he’s taking money from one investor to pay off other investors.”
Mack went on to say investors, including Martini, have a total of more than $40 million tied up in the real estate projects that allegedly never happened.
This is reportedly the second time Martini has filed a lawsuit against someone this year.
According to NJ.com, Martini filed a lawsuit against the canceled Bamboozle festival and its promoter in May. Martini alleges he was never repaid for a loan he made to the festival and promoter John D’Esposito.
The loan is listed as being $500,000 at 20 percent interest. Stererogum reported Bamboozle was canceled a week prior to the event due to several issues including a failure to obtain permits from Atlantic City officials.
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