Chris Brown still in the country for $1-M estafa case

Grammy winner rapper Chris Brown is still in the country following the filing of a $1-million estafa complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against him and his promoter.

“He is still here,” immigration spokesperson Elaine Tan said in a text message.

She said there were no reports of any attempt to leave the country.

Brown and his promoter John Michael Pio Roda are the subjects of an immigration lookout bulletin order following the request of Maligaya Development Corp. (MDC), the overall administration and management of Ciudad de Victoria where Iglesia ni Cristo’s Philippine Arena is located.

Brown was scheduled to perform last Dec. 31, 2014, at Philippine Arena but was a no-show.

Based on the complaint by MDC, Pio Roda, through his company Pinnacle Live Concepts Limited, negotiated with MDC’s J. Williams Management Group (JWMGI) to bring Brown into the country. They agreed to the amount of $1,006,250.

On Oct. 13, JWMGI made an initial payment of $87,500 while $350,000 was remitted directly to Chris Brown. Then, on Dec. 1, 2014, JWMGI paid in full the agreed amount with another $350,000 deposited directly to Brown’s account as per Pio Roda’s instruction.

But on Dec. 31, 2014, “to the dismay of the ticket holders, respondent Chris Brown did not perform at the concert. He did not even arrive in the Philippines.”

“As a consequence, complainant was subjected to embarrassment and it was publicly scrutinized as many fans who bought tickets were angered by respondent Chris Brown’s nonperformance,” the complaint stated.

After the incident, the complainant said they had demanded the return of payments but both Pio Roda and Brown refused.

“After repeated written and verbal demands, respondents Pio Roda and Chris Brown failed and refused and continuously failed and refused to return the money paid by the corporation to the respondents.

“As a result of Chris Brown’s nonappearance, the complainant corporation suffered not only financial damage but also damage to its reputation and embarrassment. It should be noted that hard-earned money from the public was used to purchase tickets in consideration for Mr. Brown’s performance. Since the complainant’s name was exposed in all marketing collaterals and its representatives even offered to sell the tickets themselves, the public’s outrage and disappointment were inevitably directed against the complainant,” the complaint stated.

The case has already been assigned to a prosecutor for the conduct of a preliminary investigation.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration said Pio Roda and Brown could only leave the country if they could secure an emigration clearance certificate to ensure that the foreign national had no pending obligations in the Philippines.

Information from the Bureau of Immigration said that Brown has not yet applied for an ECC.