FBI Adds Ex-Bellum Entertainment CEO To Most Wanted Fraudsters List; Offering $150K Reward For Info On Fugitive Mary Carole McDonnell
Former Bellum Entertainment chief executive Mary Carole McDonnell has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list, as authorities seek information leading to her arrest and conviction. She is accused of defrauding California banks of more than $29 million, and the case draws attention to alleged financial crimes linked to a former television producer known for true-crime programmes.
The FBI is offering a $150,000 reward, and believes McDonnell, 75, may be in Dubai. Charged in 2018 with five counts of bank fraud and identity theft, she allegedly posed as an heir with access to an $80 million trust; the bank fraud counts carry maximum sentences of 30 years each. The FBI’s 13-person fraud list was launched in June 2026 to highlight fugitives accused of financial crimes, while Bellum was facing debts and non-payment claims from production companies and workers around the time the alleged fraud began.
- FBI seeks information on former Bellum CEO Mary Carole McDonnell.
- She is accused of defrauding banks of more than $29 million.
- A $150,000 reward is offered for information leading to her arrest and conviction.
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Bellum Entertainment was a California television production company that made true-crime programmes. Its former chief executive, Mary Carole McDonnell, is accused of using a false claim to an $80 million family trust to obtain more than $29 million from banks; the accusations have not been proved in court.
US authorities charged McDonnell in 2018 with bank fraud and identity theft. The FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list highlights people sought over alleged financial crimes, and the case matters because it concerns substantial losses to banks and the search for a fugitive who may be outside the United States.
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