Sacramento beauty queen admits $10M investment fraud funding gambling and trips
A Sacramento beauty queen who admitted running a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scheme also used a portion of the stolen money for casino gambling, federal authorities say. Maria Dickerson, 47, who also used the names “Dulce Pino” and “Maria Dulce Pino Dickerson,” pleaded guilty to wire fraud and securities fraud. Prosecutors say she convinced investors to pour money into what she described as a lucrative legal-financing business. Instead, authorities say, a significant portion of the cash went toward her own spending, including gambling. A #Sacramento woman pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud for her role in a fraudulent investment scheme as a result of our investigation with Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Alabama Securities… pic.twitter.com/Zb7x8W9HX1 — FBI Sacramento (@FBISacramento) March 11, 2026 The scheme ran from about 2020 through 2024, beginning the same year she won a Ms. Woman Nevada pageant. During that time, Dickerson solicited money from roughly 156 investors through her company, Creative Legal Fundings of California. According to a civil complaint …


