Cesar Pina Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Money Laundering & Bribery

Cesar Pina has pleaded guilty to a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud scheme that took investors’ money while he laundered drug proceeds and paid bribes to a New Jersey official.

The 48-year-old Franklin Lakes resident entered his plea October 22 before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark. His plea covered wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and two bribery offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Pina, known online as “Flipping NJ,” often promised returns of at least 30 percent within four to five months. Instead, prosecutors said, he used fresh investments to pay earlier investors and cover personal and unrelated business costs.

The 19-page charging document details how Pina raised money for homes he already owned without telling investors about existing mortgages or other people backing the same property.

One example involved a Paterson property on Manchester Avenue that Pina bought for about $140,000 in 2019. He continued seeking investments in that home through April 2023, the filing says.

An August 2022 contract promised one investor a $30,000 return on a $100,000 stake within five months. That investor sent Pina roughly $600,000 for three properties, including the Manchester Avenue home. Across the scheme, the filing says victims still lacked “most or all of their promised principal and interest.”

Prosecutors also traced investor funds to luxury clothes, vacations, vehicles and beauty supplies. The filing describes millions in losses across dozens of victims.

The case reached beyond those property deals. Pina also admitted conspiring to launder money for people he knew were involved in drug trafficking.

The bribery scheme centered on his “Old School 5” project in Paterson. Pina wanted to turn a former school into a 60-unit apartment complex. The filing describes about $50,000 in cash and check payments to an unnamed official, plus property listings that let the official earn commissions. The two bribery counts involve a federally funded program and the Travel Act.

The guilty plea follows three years of criminal proceedings. Authorities arrested Pina in October 2023 on a wire fraud complaint. He secured his release on a $1 million bond.

AllHipHop reported tighter bail terms in March 2024. Those terms required approval from Pretrial Services before Pina could create or use social media accounts. They also barred him from opening new bank accounts or credit lines without permission.

Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel also ordered him to remove guns and ammunition from his residence and surrender firearm permits. His lawyer told the court that Pina had deactivated his social media accounts.

By April 2024, plea talks were underway. Judge Leda Dunn Wettre granted more time for both sides to negotiate, according to court records AllHipHop obtained then.

That August, Pina asked the court to let him drive for Uber and Lyft. His attorney said he had received tentative approval to start work and sought broader travel permission across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

The proposed change excluded trips to airports. His lawyer wrote that Pretrial Services accepted the proposal with that exception, while prosecutors had not yet provided a position.

The case grew in 2025. AllHipHop covered a six-count indictment that July that added money laundering and bribery allegations to the fraud case. The indictment included two wire fraud counts, a laundering conspiracy count, two money laundering counts and a bribery count.

The fraud and laundering conspiracy counts each carry up to 20 years in prison. The bribery counts carry maximums of 10 and five years. Judge Arleo is scheduled to sentence Pina March 10, 2027.