A 75-year-old woman was recently added to the FBI's Most Wanted List for defrauding a bank and posing as a fake heiress to the McDonnell Aircraft Family fortune.

​The FBI is offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Mary Carole McDonnell, a former true-crime producer and new "Most Wanted Fraudster" with ties to L.A., Montgomery, Alabama and Dubai.

​McDonnell Aircraft was a former U.S. aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1939, the company was known for making military jets, like the F-4 Phantom II. McDonnell merged with the Douglas Aircraft Company to form McDonnell Douglas in 1967, which merged with Boeing in August 1997.

​Mary Carole McDonnell is wanted in California for a host of alleged crimes. According to the FBI, from around July 2017 through May 2018, McDonnell allegedly defrauded the Banc of California out of about $14.7 million. McDonnell similarly targeted other financial institutions, taking another $15 million.

​But what is perhaps most audacious is McDonnell's false claims to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family, which holds an $80 million secret trust. The FBI said she still has access to the account.

​A federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell on December 12, 2018, after she was charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The FBI believes she is currently in Dubai.

​Mary Carole McDonnell was the CEO of Bellum Entertainment Group, which produced shows like "Corrupt Crimes," which investigated crime stories; "Deep Undercover," a true-crime series about undercover operations; and "Murderous Affairs," which made 52 episodes about love affairs gone wrong and spouses driven to kill. It wasn't just true crime though; the company was also into feel-good animal content like "Wildlife Jams" and other reality TV fodder.

​From 2004 to around 2017, Bellum’s employees felt confident in the company, with more than 30 shows on the air and an alleged heiress at the helm—but then the paychecks stopped coming. Nearly ten years later, McConnell still owes former employees and partners thousands of dollars.  

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