Miguel Mulet v. People

Summary

Miguel Mulet was prosecuted for usury after charging 30% annual interest on a P550 loan. When debtors paid the capital, Mulet still demanded P546.73 in usurious interest and forced them to sell land under pacto de retro. The Supreme Court affirmed his criminal conviction but modified the civil consequence, ordering him to return P480 (value of land produce received) rather than P373.27 as determined by the Court of Appeals. The Court held that since the consideration for the land sale (unpaid usurious interest) was illegal, the contract was null and void, entitling the innocent parties to recover what they had given including the fruits of the land.