Los Angeles, December 10, 2025 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation has placed 73-year-old Mary Carole McDonnell on its Most Wanted list after she allegedly defrauded California banks and financial institutions of nearly $30 million by posing as an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft fortune.
McDonnell, who also goes by Mary Carole Carroll and Mary C. Carroll, is accused of running the elaborate scheme between July 2017 and May 2018 in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Investigators say she falsely claimed to be the beneficiary of an $80 million secret trust tied to the founders of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation — the aerospace giant that built fighter jets and NASA spacecraft before merging with Boeing in 1997.
Using that fabricated identity, McDonnell allegedly convinced Banc of California to extend her $14.7 million in loans she had no intention or ability to repay. Authorities say she used similar tactics to extract more than $15 million from other lenders, bringing the total losses close to $30 million.
Much of the money is believed to have been used to keep afloat Bellum Entertainment LLC, a Burbank-based television production company she founded and ran as CEO. Bellum specialised in true-crime docuseries such as I Married a Murderer, It Takes a Killer, and Corrupt Crimes, which aired on networks including Oxygen and Investigation Discovery. By 2017, the company was deeply in debt, owing tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and production costs to dozens of freelancers and small studios.
Former employees say McDonnell repeatedly assured them that a massive inheritance was imminent and that all debts would soon be cleared. When the money never materialised, Bellum collapsed, leaving creditors empty-handed and staff unpaid for months.
McDonnell was indicted by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana in December 2018 on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft — offences that carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. An arrest warrant was issued, but she had already disappeared.
The FBI believes she fled to Dubai, where she has been living under the radar for several years. She is described as 5'7", approximately 145 pounds, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a noticeable scar on her right knee. She has known ties to Montgomery, Alabama, and Michigan.
Investigators say McDonnell has no legitimate connection to the McDonnell Aircraft family, and her claims of a secret $80 million trust were completely fabricated. Her nephew, who once worked at Bellum Entertainment, has publicly distanced the family from her story.
The case has drawn comparisons to high-profile “fake heiress” scams, most notably that of Anna Sorokin (Anna Delvey), who conned New York’s elite out of hundreds of dollars. However, McDonnell’s alleged fraud is significantly larger in scale and targeted financial institutions rather than individuals.
The FBI has offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to her arrest and has urged anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts to come forward. Authorities warn that she should be considered a flight risk and may be using additional aliases.
For the many former employees and small production companies left financially devastated when Bellum Entertainment shut down, the renewed manhunt offers a glimmer of hope that they may one day see justice — and perhaps some restitution.
As one former producer who is still owed money told reporters, “She made television shows about criminals. Turns out the biggest story was her own.”
