Former Miss Pennsylvania 'shocked' by $5M ruling against her

NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Former Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin says she is shocked she must pay the Miss Universe Organization $5 million for saying the Miss USA pageant was rigged.

Former U.S. District Court Magistrate Theodore H. Katz said Monnin's unfounded allegations cost the pageant up to $5 million in sponsorship money for 2013, the New York Daily News said.

"I was shocked that was ruled against me, frankly," Monnin told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Saturday. "The most logical course of action is to fight [the ruling]."

Monnin, 27, gave up her state title after she failed to place in the Top 15, saying another contestant told her she saw the list of the Top 5 before the national pageant started.