Former Hollywood CEO Mary Carole McDonnell joined the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list over a nearly $30 million bank fraud scheme, authorities say she is hiding in Dubai.
Breitbart News reported that 75-year-old Mary Carole McDonnell, once CEO of Bellum Entertainment, has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list after federal authorities accused her of bilking California banks out of nearly $30 million.
She faces a federal arrest warrant dating to 2018 on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft tied to an alleged scheme in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Officials believe she is now living in Dubai.
Between July 2017 and May 2018, authorities say McDonnell obtained $14.7 million from a bank even though she knew she was not entitled to the funds. That money has not been repaid. She is also accused of defrauding other financial institutions in a similar fashion.
Bellum Entertainment shut down suddenly in 2017 after its payroll collapsed. Former employees later described a workplace where paychecks were a gamble and cash had to be chased before it disappeared.
One ex-employee told NBC News the scramble was constant.
"There would be a mad dash out the door to get them to the banks before the banks would close so you could cash them, because they would move money around."
The same worker added a blunt bottom line.
"I had a lot of bounced checks,"
Another former staffer painted the same picture of endless money trouble.
"It was always some issue with the bank or the money that they were supposed to be getting wasn’t released to them yet, or they had to change banks, or they were getting a loan."
Those accounts line up with the larger allegation: that McDonnell kept extracting cash while the company itself was falling apart.
Federal authorities say McDonnell falsely claimed to be an heiress to the McDonnell aircraft family, faking her inheritance and background to support the scheme. She is known to have used multiple aliases, including Mary Carole Carroll, Mary Carol McDonnell, Mary Carroll McDonnell, Mary C. Carroll, and Mary Carroll McDonald.
The warrant has been outstanding since 2018. Years later she remains free, now listed among the bureau’s priority fraud fugitives. White-collar cases of this size often drag on when suspects leave the country, a pattern also seen when the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudster was arrested in India after a major benefits scam.
Los Angeles Field Office leadership is treating the case as unfinished business that international cooperation can still close.
Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, struck a confident note about the manhunt.
"It’s just a matter of time before McDonnell is caught as we work with our international partners to locate her,"
The bureau is putting real money behind that promise. A $150,000 reward is on the table for information that leads to her arrest and conviction. Grandy made the public pitch clear.
"A generous reward is being offered in exchange for information leading to her apprehension and conviction, and a tip from the public might break the case,"
Anyone with information is being urged to contact a local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, the tip line at 800-CALL-FBI, or tips.fbi.gov.
McDonnell’s reported move to Dubai fits a familiar playbook: take the money, leave U.S. jurisdiction, and wait out the heat. Federal agents have closed that gap before. An alleged $32 million COVID-19 fraud fugitive was captured in Jamaica and returned to face charges, showing that overseas stays are not permanent shields.
The same lesson held when another long-running chase ended at sea. A fugitive Rhode Island doctor was captured on a sailboat off New Jersey after two decades on the run. Distance and time did not erase the warrant.
Bureau leadership has also highlighted broader results on high-priority targets. During Senate testimony, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the capture of all 10 Most Wanted fugitives, underscoring sustained pressure on the lists that now include McDonnell.
For the banks and workers left holding empty promises in 2017 and 2018, the core question is simpler. Nearly $30 million moved. A company folded. A federal warrant sat open for years. The person accused of running the scheme is still not in custody.
Taxpayers and lawful businesses should not have to watch large-scale bank fraud become a one-way ticket out of the country. When the FBI finally puts a name on the Most Wanted Fraudsters list, the job is to finish the arrest, not let another decade slip by.
