Neri Naig’s estafa, securities violation cases dismissed by Pasay courts
Neri Naig. Image: Instagram/@mrsnerimiranda
Neri Naig is feeling vindicated after the syndicated estafa and securities violation cases filed against her in two separate branches of the Pasay City regional trial court were dismissed for lack of probable cause.
The good news was shared on social media by Naig’s husband and Parokya Ni Edgar frontman Chito Miranda, who expressed thanks to people who gave her a chance to defend herself in connection to her prior endorsement of embattled skincare company Dermacare.
Pasay regional trial court Branch 112 is handling the syndicated estafa case, while the securities violation case was raffled to Branch 111 of the RTC.
Naig’s defense is being handled by the Pasig-based FLO Attorneys, which issued a press release stating that Pasay prosecutors found no probable cause against the actress-entrepreneur, and recommended that the charges should be dropped for “insufficiency of evidence.”
“In a copy of an Order dated Feb. 12, 2025 and obtained just yesterday (March 3), Branch 112 of RTC Pasay City ordered the dismissal of the syndicated estafa complaint against [Neri] upon motion of the Office of the City Prosecutor of Pasay City, which found no probable cause to indict [Neri] upon reinvestigation sought by her legal counsel,” Neri’s legal team FLO Attorneys stated.
The presiding judge in the estafa case, as quoted in the statement, said that the private complainants never alleged being defrauded by Neri, and that they never asserted having personally transacted with or handed over money to the celebrity mom.
“Therefore, the evidence presented indeed fails to establish that [Neri] committed the crime of estafa, moreso, syndicated Estafa,” the court ruled, as quoted by the law firm.
Meanwhile, Naig’s lawyers also claimed that the RTC Branch 111 also directed the dismissal of the complaints for violation of the Securities Regulation Code.
“We thank the courts for clearing the name of Neri Miranda, who has unmistakably been falsely accused of wrongdoing in the Dermacare case. We hope that this issue will be put to rest as regards to Neri, so that instrumentalities of the law can focus on bringing the true perpetrators of the Dermacare scam to justice,” said Neri’s legal counsel, Aureli Sinsuat.
Miranda, for his part, also celebrated the dismissal of her case and thanked God for letting truth come out.
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“Mabuti nalang talaga na alam ni Lord ang buong katotohanan kaya never Niya pinabayaan si Neri,” he said. “We are so thankful that she was eventually given the chance to defend herself, and her side of the story.”
“Sobrang proud ako because Neri would always choose to be kind and fair, no matter how mean and unfair the world is, and kahit ano ang ibato sa kanya ng mundo, her integrity, at ang kanyang mabuting pagkatao, will always be intact,” he added.
The cases stemmed from allegations that Naig enticed individuals to invest in Dermacare, which was already being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for unlawful sale of investments.
Naig was arrested last Nov. 23, 2024 and detained at the Pasay City Jail female dormitory for charges of estafa. She was released from detention the following Dec. 4 after her camp’s motion to quash was partially granted.
