Wednesday, December 10, 2025 -A 73-year-old American woman who allegedly posed as an heiress in California is on the run after scamming nearly $30 million from banks and institutions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced.
Mary Carole McDonnell is wanted for her alleged involvement
in a fraud scheme in Los Angeles County and Orange County, Calif., from
approximately July 2017 to May 2018, according to the FBI's press release.
The agency alleges that McDonnell, who also has ties to
Montgomery, Ala., falsely claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft
Family and that she would have access to an $80 million secret trust.
She is alleged to have "knowingly, and with the intent
to defraud, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money, funds,
assets, and property owned by Banc of California," the FBI said.
Through this alleged scheme, the FBI claims McDonnell
fraudulently obtained approximately $14.7 million from the bank to which she
knew she was not entitled and has not repaid.
McDonnell also allegedly defrauded other financial
institutions "in a similar manner" of over $15 million, per
authorities.
She is described as a blonde woman weighing 145 pounds and
5'7" with a scar on her right knee.
McDonnell previously served as the chief executive officer
of the now-defunct Bellum Entertainment LLC, a Burbank-based production
company that produced shows including I Married a Murderer and It
Takes a Killer, according to KTLA.
The entertainment company was previously under
investigation by the California Labor Commission for alleged wage
nonpayment to dozens of its former workers, Deadline reported in
2017.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell in U.S.
District Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, on Dec.
12, 2018, after she was charged with Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity
Theft, according to the FBI.
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