(KTLA) – A 73-year-old woman with ties to Los Angeles is on the run after reportedly conning several high-profile financial institutions out of nearly $30 million, officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced.
In a news release, federal investigators said that Mary Carole McDonnell, a Michigan native, posed as an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft family and claimed to have a “secret” trust fund worth $80 million that she would eventually be able to access.
“Beginning in approximately July of 2017, and continuing to May of 2018, McDonnell 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.
Investigators said that she was able to obtain $14.7 million from the bank.
The 73-year-old used similar tactics to steal an estimated $15 million from “additional financial institutions,” federal investigators said.
At one point, McDonnell worked as chief executive officer of Bellum Entertainment LLC, a Burbank-based production company with shows that included “It Takes a Killer” and “I Married a Murderer.”
The company came under intense scrutiny by the California Labor Commission during her tenure for “alleged nonpayment of wages to dozens of its former workers,” Deadline reported in 2017.
At around the same time, the FBI alleges, she was involved in defrauding Banc of California and other financial institutions, with McDonnell telling employees that “significant bank fraud” was the reason the company was unable to meet payroll.
Deadline reported that her nephew, Peter McDonnell, who worked at Bellum for 10 years as vice president, stated that he was unaware of bank fraud and was owed at least $10,000 himself when he quit in July 2017.
In 2018, a federal arrest warrant was issued for the 73-year-old after she was charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
McDonnell is described as a white woman with blue eyes who stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing around 145 pounds. Authorities believe she may be in Dubai.
Anyone with information about the investigation or McDonnell’s whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.