FBI searching for fake heiress who stole $30 million from California banks
Federal investigators are seeking help from the public as they continue their search for a 73-year-old woman who allegedly scammed California banks out of $30 million nearly a decade ago.
Mary Carole McDonnell, of Michigan, is wanted for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft for her alleged part in a scheme that took place in Los Angeles and Orange counties between 2017 and 2018, according to the FBI's news release.
"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," the FBI said. "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."
Additionally, investigators claim that she was able to defraud several other financial institutions for more than $15 million in a similar manner. They say that she falsely claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family and that she had an $80 million secret trust to which she would have access.
McDonnell, who is believed to be in Dubai, was charged on December 12, 2018, at which point a federal arrest warrant was also issued.
She is described as standing about 5-foot-7 and weighing approximately 145 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and has a notable scar on her right knee, the FBI said. McDonnell also has ties to Montgomery, Alabama, agents said.
She has gone by several other aliases, all variations of her name, including Mary C. Carroll and Mary Carole Carroll.
The FBI listed her last known occupation as the chief executive officer of Bellum Entertainment, LLC., a television production and distribution company that made true crime shows. It was dissolved in 2017 for undisclosed financial issues, which were highlighted in a CBS Los Angeles investigative story during which former employees spoke about how she did not pay them what they said they were owed.
Anyone with more information on her whereabouts was urged to call the FBI's Los Angeles office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.