FBI adds former true crime TV producer to Most Wanted list for fraud
- - FBI adds former true crime TV producer to Most Wanted list for fraud
Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY December 10, 2025 at 1:54 PM
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The former executive of a California-based company that produced true crime shows is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after allegedly posing as an heiress and defrauding banks of millions of dollars in a yearslong scheme.
Mary Carole McDonnell, a 73-year-old Michigan native, is wanted for her alleged involvement in a "fraud scheme" in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California, the FBI said in a most wanted bulletin. The scheme began around July 2017 and continued until May 2018, according to the agency.
During that period, McDonnell resided in Los Angeles County and was the chief executive officer of Bellum Entertainment LLC, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY. The now-defunct production and distribution company was based in Burbank, California, and known for producing true-crime shows such as "It Takes a Killer" and "I Married a Murderer."
Court documents showed that McDonnell was having financial issues around July 2017. She then falsely claimed to the Banc of California that she was an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation family and would have access to an $80 million secret trust account to obtain a loan, the FBI said.
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"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," according to the FBI. "Through this scheme, McDonnell allegedly and fraudulently obtained a total of approximately $14.7 million from the bank to which she knew she was not entitled and has not paid back."
Federal authorities also alleged that McDonnell defrauded more than $15 million from other financial institutions in a "similar fashion."
In December 2018, a federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California after she was charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to the FBI. The agency believes McDonnell, who also has ties to Montgomery, Alabama, is currently in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Mary McDonnell indicted in 2018 on charges of fraud, identity theft
In 2018, a grand jury indicted McDonnell on charges of fraud and identity theft, court records showed. The indictment states that Bellum Entertainment began having issues paying payroll and meeting its financial obligations around June 2017.
McDonnell was named in various civil complaints "related to outstanding obligations filed in state courts," according to the indictment. The civil complaints, including some connected to Bellum Entertainment debts, each alleged that McDonnell owed more than $1 million to creditors across the country.
Deadline Hollywood reported in 2017 that two different companies filed identical breach-of-contract lawsuits against Bellum Entertainment. Each lawsuit sought more than $3 million in damages, according to the entertainment news website.
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To secure loans from banks, federal authorities accused McDonnell of obtaining letters from a trust company that falsely stated she had a trust account with "large balances" of up to $20 million. The indictment further alleged that McDonnell lied to representatives at Banc of California that she was related to the founders of the McDonnell Douglas Corporation and was entitled to $80 million from a trust account.
The McDonnell Douglas Corporation, a company that no longer exists, was a major aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor. The company was formed through a merger with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967.
After receiving the loans, the indictment states McDonnell used the money to "pay, among other things, creditors and the payroll of Bellum."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former true crime TV producer posed as heiress and stole $29M: FBI
Source: “AOL General News”
