Former Nevada Beauty Queen Funded Casino Gambling with $7M Ponzi Scheme

After being accused by prosecutors of defrauding investors of $7 million in a well-planned Ponzi scheme, a former Nevada beauty queen entered a guilty plea to two counts of fraud. In casinos, some of the money was lost through gambling.

Maria Dickerson of Sacramento, also known as "Dulce Pino," "Maria Dulce Pino Dickerson," and "Dulce Brubaker," won the title of "Ms. Woman Nevada 2020," a state-level title in the US National Pageants system that is normally competed for by women over 40. That much is accurate.

Dickerson, 49, of Sacramento, also asserts that she is "Ms. Elite United States 2021," despite the fact that there are no records of a pageant of that name outside of Dickerson's personal LinkedIn profile.

Gorgeous Facade

However, many of Dickerson's claims proved to be untrue, as investors discovered to their detriment.

According to prosecution filings, she managed an investment scheme from 2020 to 2024 in which she sold shares in Creative Legal Fundings of CA (CLF), a shell business that prosecutors claim is fraudulent. In exchange for a portion of any future awards or recoveries, she said, the company provided money to personal injury attorneys to finance litigation.

Dickerson assured investors that their funds were secure and supported by a sizable initial investment. She allegedly claimed that CLF was connected to the CEO of a global gambling company in order to increase the organization's legitimacy and draw in investors.

Although Dickerson claimed to have worked for Bally Technologies in London, which is owned by the massive gambling technology and casino gaming corporation Light & Wonder, the company is not mentioned in court filings.

“She promised investors at least a 10% rate of return per month on their principal investment with additional compounding monthly interest if they left their money invested with her,” according to federal prosecutors. “In reality, Dickerson did not register the sale of her securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and she used new investor money to pay off older investors and to fund a lavish lifestyle.”

She persuaded over 156 people to commit more than $10 million to her plan, according to the prosecution.

Expenditure Binge

According to court records, Dickerson spent almost $280,000 at casinos in California and Las Vegas, about $23,000 on designer goods, and more than $75,000 on travel and lodging. Prosecutors claimed that she also took off almost $1 million in investor monies via cash withdrawals and cashier's checks.

Dickerson's tenure as Ms. Woman Nevada 2020 coincided with the scam, which might have aided in the development of her credibility and success.

She was a part of the Filipino community, which the prosecution claims she mostly targeted. This kind of "affinity fraud," in which con artists take advantage of social ties and common identities within immigrant groups to gain confidence, has been warned about by the FBI.