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Ms. Woman Nevada 2020 plead guilty this week to 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 Commission.
She convinced approximately 156 investors to contribute more than $10 million to her scheme, with the money used to fund her extravagant gambling lifestyle.
Maria Dickerson, also known as “Dulce Pino,” “Maria Dulce Pino Dickerson,” and “Dulce Brubaker,” 49, of Sacramento, promised investors that their investments were safe and secure, and backed by substantial starting capital.
To appear credible and to attract investors, Dickerson falsely claimed to some investors that CLF was associated with a multinational casino and resort corporation’s CEO. 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. 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.
This lavish lifestyle included vacations, gambling, private jet travel, as well as high-end purchases like Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a home in Sacramento. Through her false statements, Dickerson induced approximately 156 investors to contribute more than $10 million to her scheme.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation are conducting the investigation with assistance from the Alabama Securities Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dhruv M. Sharma is prosecuting the case.
Dickerson is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on July 28, 2026.
She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the wire fraud count, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million on the securities fraud count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Ms. Woman is a title in the United States National Pageants system (a pageant circuit for women typically aged 40+). She was crowned the winner of this state-level title.
Dickerson also reportedly claimed to have won the Ms. Elite United States 2021 but investigators and reporters have noted that no independent records of a pageant by that name could be found outside of Dickerson’s own online profiles.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
