SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Several more people are accusing California businesswoman Maria Dulce Pino Dickerson of misusing their money in what a lawsuit claimed is a Ponzi scheme.
ABC 10News has also learned there is a federal investigation by the Internal Revenue Service involving property owned by Dickerson.
ABC 10News anchor Melissa Mecija interviewed Geraldine Bartleson, a woman who was friends with Dickerson. Bartleson invested $80,000 with Dickerson and her business, Creative Legal Fundings.
“I was blinded. I'm very blinded,” Bartleson told ABC 10News earlier this year.
There are at least two civil lawsuits—one in California and another in Washington— against Dickerson with dozens of plaintiffs, alleging fraud and misrepresentation.
According to the one filled in Sacramento, where Dickerson lives, she recruited early investors around April 2021. Bartleson is a plaintiff in this lawsuit.
The documents allege people would give money to the company that invested in accident attorneys financing law firm activities. Plaintiffs would get 10% return on investment.
Since Bartleson’s interview, several more people have spoken on the record about their investments and the money they said did not get back.
“We are in a really bad financial situation now,” said Sarah Barcelona, one of the early investors in the business.
Barcelona and her friend Elly Dowling are both a part of the civil lawsuit in Washington.
“Right now, we are in bankruptcy so we might lose our car because we took a loan,” Barcelona said.
She signed her contract with Dickerson and Creative Legal Fundings in 2021. She said she stopped receiving monthly payments earlier this year.
“It’s not only me that put in an investment. [It’s] my entire family, my husband and my kids,” Barcelona said. Her family invested about $100,000.
Dowling said their Filipino culture helped them connect with Dickerson.
“She speaks the same language as we do,” Dowling said. “We clicked as soon as we spoke because she's funny... She was I thought she was generous.”
Dickerson’s troubles span multiple states.
Dickerson is listed as part of an IRS criminal investigation in what the agency said was a notice to initiate forfeiture. It listed two of her vehicles for “violation of federal law.” One vehicle is a Mercedez-Benz worth more than $100,000.
An IRS spokesperson confirmed this is part of an “ongoing federal investigation,” but it could not say if it was connected to Dickerson’s business.
The Securities Commission in Alabama filed a cease and desist order against Dickerson’s business. The document said an Alabama resident invested with Creative Legal Fundings and that the “resident’s funds were not utilized in the means for which they were intended.”
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation also filed a desist and refrain order alleging Dickerson made “misrepresentations of material facts to current and prospective investors.”
Gemma and Ryan Smith, who is an Army veteran, were investors who said they were also captivated by Dickerson’s personality.
“She was very welcoming, very cheerful,” Ryan Smith said.
Their contract from August 2022 showed a $200,000 investment through the Smith’s family business. They said in total, they received more than half their investment back but stopped getting any money back this year. They said because of that, they lost their Florida home and now live in an RV with their children. The Smiths are not a part of either lawsuit.
“We just lost everything…. I feel like we failed as a parent,” Gemma Smith said.
“It's just pure evilness. It's pure greed. She doesn't care what she's doing the people or their families,” her husband added.
The DFPI and plaintiffs’ attorney said Dickerson’ mainly targeted members of the Filipino community, but others were also affected.
“I have not received any dividend. I haven't received any of my money back,” said Daniel McCarthy of Arizona. He was one of the more recent investors. His contract was entered in December 2022 with roughly $100,000 invested.
He said that money was his life savings. “I was trying to retire, and I can’t retire now,” McCarthy said.
When ABC 10News contacted Dickerson’s attorney, he said some of the investors did receive their investment back. “Many investors got well in excess of their original investment and reaped huge profits,” said attorney Mark Reichel.
Reichel did not specifically comment on any of the investors who spoke with ABC 10News.
In court filings, Dickerson asked the lawsuits to be dismissed.
“Our ultimate goal right now is just awareness,” Ryan Smith said. “We're back at square one. I'm not going to forgive her, like the Bible says, until she can repent what she's done to everybody else.”
“It's not only the money. She demoralized all of us,” Barcelona added.
