Old clips of Joe Budden warning DJ Envy about a suspicious real estate opportunity have resurfaced, leaving fans wishing Envy had listened.
In 2021, Envy was on Maino's "Kitchen Talk" podcast discussing meeting his business partner Cesar Pina, who did real estate deals in prison. Envy said Pina asked why he used his own money rather than "other people's money" to fund deals.
After Pina taught him, Envy pitched real estate investments to DJ Clue, Fabolous and Budden. Budden dismissed it as a "Ponzi scheme" and said Envy would "go to jail." Budden may have been right given recent events.
On his own podcast, Budden confirmed the story, playing a clip of Envy saying they don't speak. Budden said he barely listened to Envy's pitch, but it seemed questionable. "That just sounded fishy," Budden said.
Fans believe the old clip may be incriminating now. One commenter said, "This did not age well." Others wished they could have seen Budden's reaction to Envy's pitch, predicting Budden flatly rejected it as illegal.
Later, co-host Ish debated if Envy should be blamed for his partner's actions if unaware. Budden disagreed - if Envy took "one penny" from something illegal, ignorance wouldn't matter.
Investigations continue as Pina was arrested on fraud charges. Equipment was taken from Envy's workplace, with reports suggesting more action is coming. The old Budden warnings suggest Envy had reason to be wary years ago.