LOS ANGELES, CA - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that a Michigan native who allegedly posed as an heiress in California is on the run after scamming nearly $30 million from banks and institutions.
According to the FBI, they believe that the woman, 73-year-old Mary Carole McDonnell may now be in Dubai. McDonnell is wanted for her alleged involvement in a fraud scheme in Los Angeles County and Orange County, California, from approximately July 2017 to May 2018, as stated in the press release.
The FBI alleges that McDonnell, who also has ties to Montgomery, Alabama, falsely claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family and that she would have access to an $80 million secret trust, PEOPLE reported. 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 that McDonnell fraudulently obtained approximately $14.7 million from the bank to which she knew she was not entitled and has not repaid. She also allegedly defrauded other financial institutions "in a similar manner" of over $15 million, according to authorities.
She is described in the FBI press release as a woman with blonde hair weighing 145 pounds and 5'7" with a scar on her right knee. A federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, on December 12, 2018, after she was charged with Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, according to the FBI.
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.
In 2017, Deadline reported that the entertainment company was previously under investigation by the California Labor Commission for alleged wage nonpayment to dozens of its former workers.
Authorities ask that anyone with information regarding McDonnell contact FBI field offices or the nearest American embassies and consulates.
According to the FBI, they believe that the woman, 73-year-old Mary Carole McDonnell may now be in Dubai. McDonnell is wanted for her alleged involvement in a fraud scheme in Los Angeles County and Orange County, California, from approximately July 2017 to May 2018, as stated in the press release.
The FBI alleges that McDonnell, who also has ties to Montgomery, Alabama, falsely claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family and that she would have access to an $80 million secret trust, PEOPLE reported. 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 that McDonnell fraudulently obtained approximately $14.7 million from the bank to which she knew she was not entitled and has not repaid. She also allegedly defrauded other financial institutions "in a similar manner" of over $15 million, according to authorities.
She is described in the FBI press release as a woman with blonde hair weighing 145 pounds and 5'7" with a scar on her right knee. A federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, on December 12, 2018, after she was charged with Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, according to the FBI.
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.
In 2017, Deadline reported that the entertainment company was previously under investigation by the California Labor Commission for alleged wage nonpayment to dozens of its former workers.
Authorities ask that anyone with information regarding McDonnell contact FBI field offices or the nearest American embassies and consulates.
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