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

Published on: Dec 10, 2025 09:40 am IST

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

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 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?

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 journalist at Hindustan Times, adept at crafting compelling narratives spanning human interest, trending topics, science, viral news, and social media trends.

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