Nearly two years after the death of singer Liam Payne, his friend, businessman Rogelio “Roger” Nores has permanently been cleared of all criminal liability.
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The New York Post accessed court records that show a decision was signed on June 9. Three appeal court judges dismissed the drug supply charges against Nores after finding he bore no responsibility for Payne’s drug use.
Prosecutors did not file an appeal, making the decision final.
According to the court, Payne was an adult and therefore free to make his own choices. Nores was in no way responsible for the choices Payne made.
The dismissal comes after the June 2025 drug supply charge was thrown out in April 2026.
A message found on Payne’s phone asking Nores for “six grams” was central to the drug supply charge. However, Nores never replied to the message, and there was no evidence that he agreed to supply anything.
The drug supply charge against Nores followed a manslaughter charge from November 2024, nearly a month after the One Direction singer’s death. Despite the singer’s father Geoff Payne being a key witness against him, the charge was dropped in February 2025.
“There is no chance that Nores will be brought back into the case,” his defense attorney Rafael Cúneo Libarona, told The Post. “The court was clear in its ruling that cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing.”
“Roger never had the duty of caring for Payne, much less caring for his addictions,” Libarona added. “He was not Liam’s guarantor. He was his friend, not his physician, nurse, or therapist.”
An autopsy for Liam Payne listed his cause of death as multiple trauma and internal and external hemorrhage. Toxicology found alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system, and medical reports proposed he may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness, according to Complex.
Despite Nores being cleared, there are still two defendants remaining in the case. Braian Nahuel Paiz, a restaurant waiter, and Ezequiel David Pereyra, a hotel worker, were both accused of selling Payne drugs.
They both served more than a year in police precincts and federal prison before being released in March 2026, The Post reported.
In a ruling from July 3, judge Karina Andrade granted prosecutors permission to carry out forensic analysis on 10 cellphones and a flash drive owned by Paiz and Pereyra seized in police raids.