January 1, Fake Heiress Sought After $30M Bank Scam

Wyatt’s Take

• Michigan woman accused of massive bank fraud
• Pretended to be tied to a major aircraft fortune
• FBI says she may be hiding in Dubai

Folks, a Michigan senior is on the run after officials accuse her of tricking banks out of nearly $30 million. The feds say she posed as an heiress to a big American aircraft family, then convinced lenders she had access to a secret fortune worth $80 million.

According to the FBI, Mary Carole McDonnell ran this fraud from summer 2017 to spring 2018 in two California counties. She was in charge of Bellum Entertainment, a company that made true crime shows while it was financially struggling.

The FBI bulletin describes how McDonnell used those millions to pay off creditors and the payroll. She reportedly owed over $1 million to different creditors and took about $14.7 million from one bank alone.

Federal prosecutors charged her in December 2018, but she’s slipped away, possibly fleeing to Dubai. Agents say her ties stretch as far as Alabama, and her company Bellum is no longer operating.

This shows what can happen when folks trust fast talk and big city schemes. Always keep your eyes open when promises sound too good to be true.

Wyatt Matters

Hardworking Americans build their name on honesty and grit, not wild stories. Trust is the backbone of our small towns, and schemes like this shake public faith in the system that’s supposed to have our backs.

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