Pasay City court dismisses estafa complaint vs. Neri Naig-Miranda
Paulo Gaborni March 5, 2025 at 01:26 PM
PASAY CITY — The Pasay City Regional Trial Court has dismissed all fraud charges against actress and businesswoman Neri Naig-Miranda, clearing her of any involvement in an alleged investment scam.
Branch 112 of the Pasay City RTC ruled that there was no probable cause to charge Naig-Miranda with syndicated estafa, a form of large-scale fraud, following a reinvestigation by prosecutors.
Judge Ronald August L. Tan said complainants had failed to present evidence that Naig-Miranda directly engaged with them or committed fraud.
“The private complainants never alleged being defrauded by [Miranda]. More mind-boggling is that private complainants never asserted having personally transacted with or handed over money to [Miranda],” he said in a ruling issued on March 3.
The case was linked to Dermacare, a skincare company accused of illegally soliciting investments. Complainants claimed they had invested in the business after seeing Naig-Miranda endorse it. However, her legal representatives insisted she was only a brand ambassador and had no involvement in its financial operations.
Her lawyer, Aureli Sinsuat, welcomed the court’s decision, saying she had been “falsely accused.”
“We hope that this issue will be put to rest as regards Neri so that instrumentalities of the law can focus on bringing the true perpetrators of the Dermacare scam to justice,” the lawyer said.
Naig-Miranda was arrested in November 2024, drawing widespread public attention to the case.
Her husband, Chito Miranda, frontman of the band Parokya ni Edgar, said she had been wrongly implicated.
“Mabuti na lang talaga na alam ni Lord ang buong katotohanan kaya never N’ya pinabayaan si Neri,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Sobrang blessed din kami dahil the people who matter knew the truth as well and did everything they could to help and support her. We are so thankful that she was eventually given the chance to defend herself and her side of the story,” he added.
Miranda described his wife as a “kind and trustworthy person” and expressed relief that she had been given the chance to clear her name.
The court’s ruling effectively ends Naig-Miranda’s legal troubles, though authorities continue to investigate the alleged scam.
📷 Neri Miranda FB