Filipina beauty queen Maria Dickerson, a.k.a. Dulce Pino (left) is indicted in California, U.S.A. for her fraudulent investment scheme that victimized fellow Filipinos, including former sexy actress Rita Magdalena (right).
PHOTO/S: Woman of Achievement (Facebook) / ABS-CBN New
Isang Filipino-American na tinukoy as “beauty queen” ang nahaharap sa patung-patong na kaso matapos siyang basahan ng sakdal sa Sacramento, California sa U.S.
,Si Maria Dickerson, a.k.a. Dulce Pino, 47, ay nahaharap sa 24 counts of wire fraud, isang count ng securities fraud, at pitong counts ng money laundering.
Ayon ito kay U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert, sa isang official statement na naka-post sa United States Attorney’s Office sa U.S. Department of Justice website, September 3, 2024.
Ito ay dahil sa Ponzi scheme, isang investment fraud kung saan hinihikayat ng fraudster ang mga biktimang mag-invest sa kanyang negosyo kaakibat ang pangakong ibabalik ang pera ng mga ito na may interes.
Pero yun pala, kukunin ang pera at tatakbuhan ang mga biktima.
Ang mga naging biktima ay mga kababayang Pilipino na nakatira sa U.S., abilang ang former sexy actress na si Rita Magdalena.
Sa ulat ng ABS-CBN News, tinukoy si Dickerson bilang isang “Filipino beauty queen.”
Si Dickerson kasi ay kinoronahan noon bilang Ms. Elite U.S. Woman of Achievement. Ang pageant ay isang national pageant para sa “women leaders in their communities,” ayon sa website nito.
Ayon sa official statement sa U.S. DOJ website, mula 2020 hanggang 2024 ay gumawa ng investment scheme si Dickerson at nilako sa Filipino community ang pekeng company niyang Creative Legal Fundings of California.
Pinangakuan niya ang may tinatayang 140 investors na tutubo sila ng fixed rate buwan-buwan kung mag-i-invest sila.
Nangako rin si Dickerson sa investors na ligtas ang kanilang pera.
Pero ang ginawa pala ni Dickerson sa pera ng new investors ay ibinayad sa mga dating investors. Namuhay siya ng “lavish lifestyle” at bumili ng mga sasakyang Mercedes-Benz at bahay sa Sacramento, ayon sa U.S. DOJ website.
“Dickerson took money from investors and collected millions of dollars in investment funds solicited with her false promises and representations,” ayon sa statement.
Sinabi naman sa report ng ABC 10 News San Diego na umabot sa $7 million (PHP393 million) ang nakuhang pera ni Pino mula sa mga nabiktimang investors.
Nakalagay rin sa U.S. DOJ website na, “This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Alabama Securities Commission.”
NOT GUILTY
Sa ulat naman ng ABS-CBN News, sinabing si Dickerson ay nasa custody ng Eastern California District Court sa Sacramento, pero nag-plead siya ng “not guilty.”
Ayon sa mga nagsampa ng reklamo laban kay Dickerson, noong una ay binabayaran sila ni nito, pero simula 2023 ay tumigil siya sa pagbabayad kaya nagsampa sila ng civil lawsuits.
Naglabas din ang Philippines Honorary Consulate sa San Diego ng babala sa mga Pilipino na huwag makipagsosyo kay Dickerson habang ongoing ang investigation.
Kung mapatutunayang nagkasala, maaaring makulong ng hanggang 20 years si Dickerson at magbabayad ng $5 million (PHP281 million).
Nilabas naman ng ABS-CBN News ang pahayag ng kampo ni Dickerson.
Sabi ni Atty. Mark Reichel, abogado ni Dickerson, sinimulan ng kanyang kliyente ang isang “creative and honest plan to form a beneficial investment fund.”
“It immediately grew at a speed which was not manageable at all, and many who invested early on started to then solicit funds and make promises to others to send money to the fund— often without Ms Dickerson’s awareness.
“Many investors made extreme returns on their investments and then refused to share their exorbitant returns with those they had brought in. Ms Dickerson has been trying to liquidate assets to make everyone whole when this arrest occurred.”
Rita Magdalena on being victim of fraud scheme
December 2023 nang humarap si Rita Magdalena sa ABS-CBN News ukol sa pagiging biktima ni Dickerson.
Dito sinabi ni Rita na umabot sa $80,000 (PHP4.5 million) ang investment money na ibinigay niya kay Dickerson.
Mga apat hanggang limang beses daw ay dumarating ang dividends ng investment ni Rita, subalit pagkatapos noon ay tumigil na.
Dito na raw siya kinabahan. Nagdahilan daw si Dickerson, pero nagkakutob ang dating aktres na nagsisinungaling ito.
Sinikap raw ni Rita na mabawi ang pera, pero hindi niya ito nakuha.
Photo/s: ABS-CBN News on YouTube
Himutok ng former actress, “Those are my hard-earned money. Pera naming mag-asawa iyon na retirement money.
“Steve, my husband, just retired this year [2023] from the military.
“So we really planned it all na kukunin na sana namin yung pera namin, but then again we didn’t get it.
“So it’s not just financial… it’s all trauma, the stress na binigay ng sitwasyon na ito. Pinagsisisihan ko talaga na nakilala ko si Dulce Pino.”
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