By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times 
 
 Six Miss Corpus Christi Latina pageant contestants are suing the contest's director after the crown went to a woman whose past they say should have disqualified her from competing. 
 
 Caitlin Cifuentes, 25, was crowned queen June 11 and is slated to compete for the state title in August. 
 
 The lawsuit argues Cifuentes' criminal record and previous marriage disqualified her from competing according to the contract contestants were required to sign. 
 
 Cifuentes, who could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday, is currently on deferred adjudicated probation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and probation for a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated case, according to online Nueces County court records. In a Facebook post celebrating her victory she acknowledged the controversy surrounding her win saying she worked hard and earned the crown. She is not named as a defendant. 
 
 The lawsuits seeks $100,000 from pageant director Kayla Alvarez, who is accused of allowing Cifuentes to compete despite disqualifying factors. 
 
 "Kayla Alvarez willfully and knowingly violated countless terms of the contractual agreement by allowing Caitlin Cifuentes to participate in and ultimately win the pageant," the lawsuit states. 
 
 The first-year pageant director told the Caller-Times she hasn't received legal notice of the lawsuit but defended the pageant judges' selection. 
 
 "Just because you have a bad background ... doesn't mean that should hold you back from accomplishing your goals," Alvarez said. "She's worked very hard and the judges saw that and she won fair and square." 
 
 Alvarez said she has no plans to renounce Cifuentes' crown. She said Cifuentes' record doesn't disqualify her because deferred adjudication probation is not legally a conviction. And while the pageant prohibits girls who have been married from competing in the teen category, it does not prohibit divorced women from the adult competition, Alvarez said. However, the contestants may not be married at the time of the pageant, she said. 
 
 The lawsuit also states funds from ticket sales are supposed to be given to the Women's Shelter of South Texas. Frances Wilson, the agency's CEO, told the Caller-Times they have not received the money. 
 
 Alvarez said she's waiting for some of the contestants to turn in their ticket money. 
 
 Twitter: @CallerKMT 
 
 Pageant Lawsuit ||||| Pageant Queen's Rap Sheet Stirs Runners-Up 
 
 (CN) — The winner of the 2016 Miss Corpus Christi Latina Pageant is just settling into her tiara, but six rivals claim in court she's not worthy because her criminal record should have disqualified her. 
 
 Caitlin Cifuentes, 25, won the pageant on June 11, besting 16 other competitors, according to court records. 
 
 In the weeks leading up to the event, Cifuentes promoted her candidacy all over Corpus Christi, Texas. 
 
 She appeared as a "special reading guest" at a bookstore's summer reading program kickoff event, sang the national anthem at a baseball game for mentally disabled kids and attended a radio station promotion at a cellphone store, as documented on Facebook. 
 
 The pageant and its sister event, the Miss Corpus Christi Teen Texas Latina, are the preliminaries for state contests scheduled for August. The winners of the state competitions qualify for the Miss U.S. Latina and Miss Teen U.S. Latina pageants. 
 
 Six miffed contestants sued the Corpus Christi pageants' organizer Kayla Alvarez this week in Nueces County Court. 
 
 Their attorney, Marisol Carvajal-Garcia, said in a statement to Courthouse News: "The contract that was signed between Kayla Alvarez and the contestants CLEARLY STATES that the contestants must not have any PENDING criminal charges against them. Although Cifuentes is not a convicted felon, she has a PENDING charge against her because she is serving a 10-year deferred adjudication probationary sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon." (Emphasis in original.) 
 
 Nueces County prosecutors charged Cifuentes with four counts of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor DUI for an Aug. 8, 2013, crash that injured four people, court records show. 
 
 She pleaded guilty to the DUI charge and is on probation for it until September 2017. 
 
 The four aggravated assault charges were reduced to one, and she struck a deferred adjudication deal with prosecutors under which she must abide by the deal's 10-year term, ending in September 2025, for the charge to be dismissed. 
 
 The pageant rules also state that contestants must, "Be single, born female, never have been married or given birth to a child." 
 
 Cifuentes married in November 2011 and got a divorce, according to the complaint, which is still being processed by the court but was provided to Courthouse News by Carvajal-Garcia. 
 
 Alvarez defended Cifuentes in an interview with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 
 
 "Just because you have a bad background...doesn't mean that should hold you back from accomplishing your goals. She's worked very hard and the judges saw that and she won fair and square," Alvarez told the newspaper. 
 
 Alvarez told the Caller-Times she didn't plan to revoke Cifuentes' title because her deferred adjudication probation isn't a conviction, and although the teen pageant prohibits contestants who have been married, divorced women can enter the adult contest. 
 
 But Carvajal-Garcia accused Alvarez of "making up rules" and stood by her claim that the rules disqualify anyone facing pending criminal charges, including deferred adjudication. 
 
 The attorney said she had printed out the contest rules. 
 
 "It states that 'You cannot have been married.' It doesn't say, but that's only for the teen division. It doesn't say that. These people are making up rules as they go," she said in an interview. 
 
 Cifuentes addressed her critics on Facebook, reportedly posting, "Please understand that this was a competition and the judges made their own final decision. I forgive those who choose to be hateful. Overall we all did awesome and we are all beautiful." 
 
 Carvajal-Garcia said she plans to amend the lawsuit to add more contestants as plaintiffs. 
 
 The six contestants in the original complaint sued Alvarez for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, seeking to recoup their pageant entry fees and money they raised for the event. 
 
 Alvarez insists Cifuentes deserves the crown. 
 
 "1. She is not convicted of any criminal offense. 2. No criminal charges are presently pending. 3. The contract states I AM NOT MARRIED.... Meaning not married at the present time. 4. No one is making up rules," Alvarez wrote in an email. ||||| Miss Corpus Christi Latina contestants sue, claiming winner's past should disqualify her 
 
 Soon after the crown was placed on Caitlin Cifuentes's head at the Miss Corpus Christi Latina pageant, the 25-year-old had to take to social media to defend her title. 
 
 "I am only going to state this once," the pageant queen wrote on Facebook. "I worked very very hard to win this title. ...." 
 
 Six contestants who competed against Cifuentes for the crown are suing the Miss Corpus Christi Latina pageant director because, they say, Cifuentes' past should have disqualified her. Cifuentes won the crown June 11 and is supposed to compete for the state title in August. 
 
 RELATED: Confessions of a beauty pageant judge 
 
 In the lawsuit, the contestants claim Cifuentes' previous marriage and criminal record should have disqualified her from the contest, in keeping with the pageant contract. 
 
 According to Nueces County court documents, Cifuentes is on deferred adjudicated probation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and probation for a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated case. 
 
 The contestants are seeking $100,000 from pageant director Kayla Alvarez, who they say allowed Cifuentes to compete, according to the lawsuit. 
 
 "Kayla Alvarez willfully and knowingly violated countless terms of the contractual agreement by allowing Caitlin Cifuentes to participate in and ultimately win the pageant," the lawsuit states. 
 
 RELATED: Miss America Winners 1921-2014 
 
 Alvarez defended the judge's decision in an interview with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 
 
 "Just because you have a bad background ... doesn't mean that should hold you back from accomplishing your goals," Alvarez told the Caller-Times. "She's worked very hard and the judges saw that and she won fair and square." 
 
 For now, Cifuentes gets to keep her crown. Alvarez explained that Cifuentes could not have been disqualified because being on deferred adjudication probation does not legally mean she was convicted. Alvarez went on to explain that married women are not allowed to compete in the teen category, but divorced women are allowed to participate in the adult category as along as they aren't married at pageant time. 
 
 RELATED: Miss South Texas' amazing weight loss transformation 
 
 "I thank god I achieved what I wanted and I feel blessed to have so much love and support," Cifuentes wrote on Facebook. "With that said, there is way more positivity and love than negativity so for those that are bitter, please understand that this was a competition and the judges made their own final decision. I forgive those who choose to be hateful. Overall we all did awesome and we are all beautiful."
– Six of the contestants who lost the Miss Corpus Christi Latina Pageant not only think the pageant crowned the wrong winner, they're suing over it. Their lawsuit makes the case that Caitlin Cifuentes, 25, should not have received the crown on June 11 because of her criminal record and a past marriage, reports the Houston Chronicle. Specifically, the suit argues that Cifuentes should have been disqualified because she is on deferred adjudicated probation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, along with probation for misdemeanor DUI. Those charges stem from a 2013 car crash that injured four people, reports Courthouse News Service. The lawsuit is seeking $100,000 from pageant director Kayla Alvarez, who stands by the decision to crown Cifuentes. "Just because you have a bad background ... doesn't mean that should hold you back from accomplishing your goals," Alvarez tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. "She's worked very hard and the judges saw that and she won fair and square." Alvarez says Cifuentes' probationary status means she was never technically convicted and was therefore still eligible to compete. While the suit cites a clause in the agreement all contestants signed that begins "I have never been married," Alvarez says the rule against no marriages applies only to the teen competition, with divorced adults eligible for the "Miss" title. The suit also argues that due to Cifuentes' probation, her travel outside of Nueces County is dependent on the Nueces County Probation Department's approval. As of now, Cifuentes is still on track to compete for the state Latina title in August. (Want to win Miss Universe? This Yale law grad can help.)