Yen Le won the Miss Vietnam USA title in November 2007 but she is still to receive her big prize, the beauty queen claims in court papers just filed against the pageant. According to Le, she is still $10,000 and a Mercedes short for winning – and she’s taking the matter to court, celebrity gossip site / paparazzi agency TMZ informs.

Not only did the pageant not pay Le the prize money for winning, advertised as a hefty check for $10,000, but she was also scammed into paying for the car she was supposed to receive for free. Therefore, she’s headed straight to court and will reportedly not back down until the beauty pageant pays her $50,000, which should cover the prize she never received, plus attorney and court fees, the same source reports.

“According to a lawsuit filed earlier this week in Orange County, Yen Le – who was crowned Miss Vietnam USA in November 2007 – is suing the pageant organizers because she alleges she was supposed to receive $10,000 and a new Mercedes for winning. Now get this – not only does she claim she never got the $10K, but she says the pageant made her lease the car in her own name... and then they defaulted on the payments.” TMZ writes in one of today’s posts.

If Le’s allegations are true, meaning, if the lawsuit is well founded, it is believed that the beauty pageant will not battle this one out in court, choosing instead to settle and to issue an official press statement. As of now, however, no such statement has yet been released, which may serve as an indication of sorts that Le might be making false claims on grounds that are not yet known, it has been said.

Beauty pageants often hold the headlines, especially when the competition is on a larger scale and comes with considerable prizes and media exposure. In recent weeks, for instance, a 19-year-old model running for the Miss Universe Australia title was harshly criticized for being too skinny (and possibly sick as well), Miss California for Miss USA was labeled a homophobe for her comments on marriage, while Miss Black Britain received death threats for running for the Miss England crown.