Grammy award winner rapper Chris Brown will spend another night in the Philippines hold up in his hotel room after a $1 million estafa case was filed against him and his promoter by the Maligaya Development Corp. (MDC), the overall administration and management of Ciudad de Victoria, which is owned by the powerful and influential religious sect, Iglesia ni Cristo.
Philippine immigration spokeswoman Elaine Tan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Brown is still in the country and added the rapper and his entourage did not attempted to leave the country on Thursday.
Brown and his promoted John Michael Pio Roda were charged with estafa for failing to show up at the Philippine Arena, which is owned by the Iglesia ni Cristo, on December 31, 2014 for a New Year's countdown.
According to MDC's complaint, Pio Roda represented Brown through his promotion company Pinnacle Live Concepts Limited, with MDC's J. Williams Management Group (JWMGI) for a one-night show in the Philippines. The deal stated that MDC will pay Brown $1,006,250.
An initial payment of $87,000 was sent to Pio Roda on October 31 and another $350,000 was deposited directly to Brown's account. JWMGI claimed it paid the agreed amount in full on December 1, 2014 with another $350,000 remitted to Brown's bank account.
However, Brown was a no show on December 31, 2014 "to the dismay of the ticket holders, He did not even arrive in the Philippines," the complaint said. It added, "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."
MDC and JWMGI said they asked Pio Roda and Brown to return the payments but the two rejected their demand.
The complainant said in its charge sheet, "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."
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Immigration prevented Brown's plane from leaving Manila after the MDC requested to place him and his promoted in an immigration lookout. Brown performed a one-night concert in Manila on Tuesday.
Philippine immigration officials said Brown and Pio Roda will only be allowed to leave the country after securing an emigration clearance certificate stating they have no pending obligations in the Philippines. As of this writing, Brown has not applied for an ECC yet.
Meanwhile, Brown on Thursday posted a video on Instagram showing him goofing inside his hotel room to kill off time.
Brown wrote on Instagram, "Can somebody tell me what the f*** is going on? I don't know, I'm reading headlines after headlines."
Because of his legal woes in the Philippines, Brown cancelled his show in Hong Kong on Wednesday and announced that his Jakarta concert on Friday will also be cancelled, said the Philippine Star.
