A Southern California woman wanted for defrauding banks out of nearly $15 million, now believed to be in Dubai, has been added to the FBI’s “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list, the agency announced.
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Mary Carole McDonnell, 75, is wanted for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in Orange and Los Angeles counties. With her name now on the list of most wanted fraud fugitives, there is a reward of up to $150,000 for information that leads to McDonnell’s arrest and conviction.
McDonnell allegedly represented herself as the heiress to the McDonnell aircraft family, falsely claiming she was related to the owners of the McDonnell Douglas aviation company, authorities said. She claimed she had $80 million in a trust in order to get a loan.
She is accused of defrauding a bank out of $14.7 million, which she still has not paid back, authorities said.
A federal warrant for her arrest was issued in December 2018 in Santa Ana.
McDonnell was the chief executive officer of Bellum Entertainment, a Burbank-based company that produced true crime shows, including “It Takes a Killer” and “I Married a Murderer.”
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McDonnell, who also goes by Mary Carole Carroll, Mary Caroll McDonald, Mary C. Carroll and Mary Carroll McDonnell, is 5’7”, 145 pounds, and has known ties to Los Angeles, Montgomery, Alabama and Dubai, officials said.
The Bureau started the Most Wanted Fraudsters list, a separate list from the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, in June 2026 to bring attention to fugitives who committed fraud.
The FBI has captured six most wanted fraudsters from the list in recent months, according to the bureau.
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