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Who is Mary Carole McDonnell? Fake airline heiress allegedly cons banks out of $30 million, flees to Dubai

Mary Carole McDonnell allegedly approached banks and financial institutions, claiming she had a secret $80 million trust fund, according to the FBI.

Published on: Dec 10, 2025, 09:40:17 IST
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A 72-year-old woman on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) most-wanted list allegedly was involved in a fraud scheme in Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

Mary Carole McDonnell who is on the FBI's most wanted list. (X/@FBIMostWanted)
Mary Carole McDonnell who is on the FBI's most wanted list. (X/@FBIMostWanted)

“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 defraud, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money, funds, assets, and property owned by a bank,” the FBI tweeted.

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Who is Mary Carole McDonnell?

The statement revealed, “On December 12, 2018, a federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell in the United States District Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, after she was charged with Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. It is believed McDonnell is currently in Dubai.”

Born in 1951 in Michigan, she worked as the Chief Executive Officer of Bellum Entertainment LLC, as per the FBI report. She has ties to “Los Angeles, California; Montgomery, Alabama; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.”

The FBI report further stated, “Beginning in approximately July of 2017, and continuing to May of 2018, 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. 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. It is alleged that McDonnell also defrauded additional financial institutions in a similar fashion, with an estimated loss of over $15 million.”

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trisha Sengupta

Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.

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