Fake Heiress Steals Nearly $30 Million In Fraud Scheme Using Defunct Aircraft Firm, Feds Say

A 73-year-old Michigan woman is on the run after swindling nearly $30 million from banks by pretending to be an heiress to a defunct aircraft company, officials said.

Mary Carole McDonnell claimed she had access to an $80 million secret trust tied to the McDonnell Aircraft Family, the FBI said in a most wanted bulletin. The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation merged with the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967, creating McDonnell Douglas, which was then absorbed by Boeing in the 1990s, according to Britannica.

The scheme ran from around July 2017 to May 2018 in Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California, authorities said.

McDonnell served as CEO of Bellum Entertainment LLC during the alleged fraud, the since-defunct Burbank production firm that produced true crime shows such as “I Married a Murderer” and “It Takes a Killer,” according to a federal indictment, NBC News reported. (RELATED: FBI Searches For Foreign National Allegedly Involved In $34 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme)

Mary Carole McDonnell is #wanted by the #FBI for her alleged involvement in a fraud scheme in Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California. Beginning in approximately July of 2017, and continuing to May of 2018, McDonnell is alleged to have knowingly, and with the intent to… pic.twitter.com/QCtLnOB2dy

— FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) December 5, 2025

Bellum struggled to pay employees and upholding financial obligations at the time, according to the indictment. Multiple civil complaints accused McDonnell of owing more than $1 million to creditors nationwide, authorities said.

The FBI alleged McDonnell defrauded the Banc of California out of approximately $14.7 million. She knew the funds were not hers to take and did not repay them, according to the agency. She allegedly stole more than $15 million from other financial institutions.

McDonnell used the funds “to pay, among other things, creditors and the payroll of Bellum,” according to the indictment.

Federal prosecutors charged McDonnell with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, then secured a warrant for her arrest in December 2018. The FBI suspects McDonnell, who has connections with Montgomery, Alabama, currently resides in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The Daily Caller has reached out to The James S. McDonnell Foundation and the FBI for comment.