Cesar Pina pleaded guilty to four federal counts, including paying a local official to help advance real estate development projects.
NORTH JERSEY – Cesar Humberto Pina, the Franklin Lakes real estate investor known online as “Flipping NJ,” pleaded guilty Oct. 22 to defrauding investors, laundering drug proceeds and bribing a Paterson official, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey announced.
Pina, 48, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark. He admitted one count each of wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, bribery involving a federally funded program and Travel Act bribery, according to the federal announcement.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 10, 2027.
The plea follows a case that began publicly with Pina’s October 2023 arrest on a wire fraud complaint. At that time, prosecutors said dozens of investors had lost millions of dollars, and Pina was released on a $1 million secured bond with electronic monitoring.
Investment promises and diverted money
Prosecutors said Pina used real estate seminars, marketing and a large social media following to attract people willing to invest in property purchases, renovations and sales.
He often promised returns of 30% or more within four to five months, according to the Oct. 22 announcement. Instead, he mixed investors’ funds, used new investments to pay earlier investors and spent money on unauthorized personal and business expenses.
The superseding information describes contracts tied to specific properties and failures to disclose existing ownership, mortgages and investments from other people. It also identifies millions of dollars in losses.
The original case was announced as an investment fraud prosecution. The four-count plea also resolves charges concerning the laundering of narcotics proceeds and corrupt efforts to obtain help with development approvals.
Payments tied to zoning applications
The superseding information describes approximately $50,000 in cash and check payments to an unnamed Paterson official, along with other financial benefits.
The payments were intended to obtain official assistance and influence for Pina’s development projects, including “Old School 5,” a former school property on Totowa Avenue that he sought to turn into a 60-unit residential complex.
According to the filing, the assistance included efforts to place applications on the Paterson Zoning Board of Adjustment’s calendar and influence votes on requested variances. The document says the applications had been heard and considered but had not been approved.
The filing identifies the official as “Individual-2.” It does not name the person, and Pina’s plea does not establish another person’s guilt.
What comes next
Pina’s wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy counts each carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. The federal-program bribery count carries up to 10 years, and the Travel Act count carries up to five years, prosecutors said.
Those are the maximum penalties for individual counts. The court will determine Pina’s sentence at the March hearing.