MANILA — The lawyer of several investors who filed a complaint against businesswoman and actress Nerizza Naig Miranda said his clients were "enticed" into putting millions of pesos into a skincare business, which turned out to have no license to solicit investments.  

Atty. Roberto Labe represents 39 clients who filed a case of syndicated estafa and violation of the Securities Regulation Code against Miranda, who was arrested on Saturday.

Labe said his clients from Quezon City, Pasay City, Sta Rosa City in Laguna, and Batangas City filed these cases against Miranda and six members of the board of directors of Dermacare-Beyond Skincare Solutions. This was after they invested P89 million in the skincare company. Labe said one of his clients invested in 2022.

“They started online, asking [the] public to invest. Then of course this scheme-- mayroon silang clinic, which is legitimate naman yung clinic. Nakikita naman physically and they entice people to invest, asking people from the public through several apps sa Facebook and telling people that they can earn as much as 15 percent every quarter and plus 50 percent off sa lahat ng services and products nung clinic na iyon,” said Labe.

Labe said, Miranda “enticed” the people to invest.

“As you can see sa mga post niya noon, she is enticing people to invest. Isa yun sa mga rason bakit napapatibay, tumibay yung loob ng mga investors dahil knowing for a fact that Ms. Neri is a person with integrity--kita niyo naman po magaling po siya sa negosyo. I think there was one segment na ‘Wais na Misis’ di ba?” said Labe.

In 2023, Labe said his clients' checks from the company began bouncing. This was after an advisory from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the clinic “is not authorized to solicit investments from the public, not having secured prior registration and/or license to sell securities or solicit investments as prescribed under Section 8 of the Securities Regulation Code,” the advisory said.

“That’s the reason why lalong hindi sila makakuha ngayong ng investors. Hindi nakaikot yung pera, eventually hindi na ho sila talaga makapag-reach out doon sa original na may-ari na ito yung corporation owned by a certain “Chanda” hindi na po mareach out."

An SEC advisory earlier said Dermacare-Beyond Skin Care Solutions operated by COO Ms. Chanda Atienza and company admin and finance manager Venus Eunice Gonda offered “franchise partner agreements” that promised guaranteed returns equivalent to 12.6 percent interest every quarter for a period of 5 years as well as other complimentary services.

"At start nakakapagbigay naman, they issued checks to the investors then nagu-good yung check. Then some other investor ay repeat investors pa dahil nagu-good yung unang portion eh. Then eventually di na nakapagbigay, tumatalbog yung checks. They sent demand letters,” said Labe.

Aside from Miranda, another “endorser” is facing the same lawsuit.

“Bukod kay Neri of course yung mga board of directors nung corporation na iyon then meron pa pong, endorser na mas sikat pa sa kanya. Personally, I know for a fact na kasama po yung sa dinemanda namin at meron pa po yung warrant of arrest. Di ko lang po mabanggit ang details nun,” he said.

Miranda's husband, Chito Miranda of the rock band Parokya ni Edgar said "Neri" has never defrauded or taken advantage of others.

"Never siyang kumuha or nanghingi ng pera kahit kanino man. Alam ng lahat 'yan. Tulong lang s'ya (nang) tulong hangga't kaya n'ya," the musician added.

He said his wife was just an "endorser."

"Tulad ngayon, endorser lang s'ya tapos ginamit 'yung face n'ya to get investors. Kinasuhan s'ya ng mga nabiktima," Chito Miranda added.