FBI Adds TV Executive Mary Carole McDonnell to Most Wanted List Over $14.6 Million Bank Fraud
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jul 25
FBI Adds TV Executive Mary Carole McDonnell to Most Wanted List Over $14.6 Million Bank Fraud
3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jul 25
Summary
Federal authorities say McDonnell, a veteran true-crime TV producer, remains a fugitive after a 2018 indictment on bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges tied to more than $14.6 million in loans.
Court records reviewed by Business Insider say she claimed she was heir to the McDonnell Douglas fortune and due $80 million from a family trust, using allegedly forged documents while facing more than $1 million in debt.
Bellum Entertainment, her once-fast-growing production company, unraveled in 2017 as paychecks bounced, nearly 50 workers filed wage claims, and lenders later won judgments including more than $17 million for Banc of California.
The FBI believes McDonnell fled to Dubai, where a former acquaintance said she still presented herself as an heiress and sought a $7.5 million TV investment; ex-agents say any arrest would require Emirati cooperation.
McDonnell became one of only 32 white-collar suspects placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list, turning a Hollywood wage-and-fraud saga into an international manhunt.