The true-crime mogul turned FBI’s most wanted who disappeared into thin air
Cameron Henderson
washington: Mary Carole McDonnell spent years as the head of a California production agency creating true crime television series that explored murder, corruption and espionage schemes.
On Tuesday, the 73-year-old found himself embroiled in a crime drama after he was added to the FBI’s most wanted list for allegedly posing as an heiress to defraud millions of dollars from major banks, actors and even his own family.
Federal investigators believe McDonnell fled to the United Kingdom before heading to Dubai in 2017 after coming under scrutiny for failing to pay wages.
Bobby Chacon, a former FBI agent who worked with the producer, said years of producing true crime series may have trained him for life on the run.
“Maybe he learned not to get caught by watching so many people get caught in his programs,” he said.
The once seemingly successful production company Bellum Entertainment Group was behind dozens of true crime shows. It Takes a Killer And I Married a Murderer.
‘He was building this house of cards that eventually collapsed.’
Bobby Chacon, a former FBI agent who worked with the producer
McDonnell, known for his ornate jewelry, would host extravagant parties for staff at his home in northeast Los Angeles, complete with a ballroom and resort-style swimming pool, a former partner said.
Rumors are said to have circulated among crew members about his wealth, particularly that he came from a “very wealthy family”.
“She seemed like a pretty wealthy woman,” one of her former employees, Joshua Koffmann, told KTLA 5, adding that she “was always impeccably dressed.”
Suspicions about McDonnell first emerged in 2017. Deadline The California Labor Commission is reportedly investigating Bellum for failing to pay wages to dozens of former workers.
Chacon said he made “very good money” for a year, but then paychecks started taking weeks to arrive and the crew was at breaking point.
He eventually parted ways with the company in mid-2017, saying it still owed him $US36,000 ($A54,000).
Around the same time, McDonnell obtained a US$14.7 million ($22 million) loan from California-based banks, claiming to be a member of the McDonnell aviation dynasty with a secret $80 million trust fund he had access to.
“Beginning in approximately July 2017 and continuing through May 2018, McDonnell allegedly devised and participated in a scheme to knowingly and with intent to defraud obtain money, funds, assets and property belonging to Banc of California,” the FBI said.
The Michigan native used similar tactics to steal nearly $15 million from other financial institutions, according to federal investigators.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for him in December 2018 after a grand jury indicted him on fraud and identity theft charges.
Even family members were subjected to alleged crimes. His nephew Peter McDonnell worked at Bellum Entertainment and was reportedly thousands of dollars in debt.
“We all thought there was something weird going on, and then one day he disappeared,” Chacon said.
McDonnell is thought to have traveled to London before traveling to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and applying to extend his visa in 2019. UAE immigration authorities have been approached for comment.
After he disappeared, an online community of disgruntled former employees began to form, claiming they owed McDonnell money and, like true crime investigators on TV shows, shared rumors of his whereabouts.
After 27 years with the FBI, Chacon said he wasn’t surprised by the extent of the producer’s alleged crimes, but said there was no reason to suspect him when they first met.
“This was legitimate business at the foundation,” he said. “But over time, he was building this house of cards that eventually collapsed, and he wouldn’t be around when that happened.”
Telegraph, London
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