FBI Hunts 73-Year-Old Woman Accused of $30m Fake Heiress Scam in U.S.

A 73-year-old American woman, Mary Carole McDonnell, is currently on the run after allegedly defrauding banks and financial institutions of nearly $30 million by posing as a wealthy heiress in California.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), McDonnell is wanted for her role in a large-scale fraud scheme carried out in Los Angeles and Orange counties between July 2017 and May 2018. Investigators said she falsely presented herself as an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft family and claimed she had access to a secret trust fund worth $80 million.

Authorities alleged that McDonnell deliberately devised and executed a scheme to illegally obtain money and assets from Banc of California, successfully securing about $14.7 million which she was never entitled to and has not repaid.

The FBI further disclosed that she used similar methods to defraud other financial institutions of more than $15 million within the same period.

McDonnell, who also has links to Montgomery, Alabama, is described as a blonde woman, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing approximately 145 pounds, with a scar on her right knee.

She previously served as the chief executive officer of the now-defunct Bellum Entertainment LLC, a Burbank-based production company known for producing crime-related television shows such as I Married a Murderer and It Takes a Killer. The company had earlier come under investigation by the California Labor Commission in 2017 over allegations of unpaid wages to several employees.

A federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell on December 12, 2018, by the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California, after she was charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.