A 73-year-old American woman who allegedly posed as an heiress in California is on the run after scamming nearly $30 million from banks and institutions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced.

Mary Carole McDonnell is wanted for her alleged involvement in a fraud scheme in Los Angeles County and Orange County, Calif., from approximately July 2017 to May 2018, according to the FBI’s press release.

The agency alleges that McDonnell, who also has ties to Montgomery, Ala., falsely claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family and that she would have access to an $80 million secret trust.

She is alleged to have “knowingly, and with the intent to defraud, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money, funds, assets, and property owned by Banc of California,” the FBI said.

Through this alleged scheme, the FBI claims McDonnell fraudulently obtained approximately $14.7 million from the bank to which she knew she was not entitled and has not repaid.

McDonnell also allegedly defrauded other financial institutions “in a similar manner” of over $15 million, per authorities.

She is described as a blonde woman weighing 145 pounds and 5’7″ with a scar on her right knee.

McDonnell previously served as the chief executive officer of the now-defunct Bellum Entertainment LLC, a Burbank-based production company that produced shows including I Married a Murderer and It Takes a Killer, according to KTLA.

The entertainment company was previously under investigation by the California Labor Commission for alleged wage nonpayment to dozens of its former workers, Deadline reported in 2017.

A federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, on Dec. 12, 2018, after she was charged with Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, according to the FBI.

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Seven women d!ed while 11 others were injured during a protest in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

According to Daily Trust, the women were protesting what they termed delayed response by the military to calm tensions between Bachama and Chobo communities of the LGA, when the incident occurred on Monday, December 8, 2025.

The women, who were seen holding leaves blocked the movement of troops into the area, accusing security agencies of delayed responses and biased interventions in favour of the Chobo community.

However, during the confrontation, sources said the military allegedly fired shots into the crowd and four of the women d!ed on the spot, while three others d!ed in the hospital. It was further learnt that 11 others, who were injured are currently receiving treatment.

“They came out peacefully, carrying leaves, begging for security, instead, they were met with live gunfire.

“The wounded were rushed to Numan General Hospital, where medical officials say some remain in critical condition,” District Head of Gyawana, a community in Lamurde LGA, Chief Agoso Bamaiyi, said.

Meanwhile, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Lamurde Local Government Area, following the incident.

The directive was announced on Monday in a statement issued by the Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Hussaini Hammangabdo, who confirmed that the governor has instructed security operatives to immediately move into the troubled communities

The statement said Fintiri had ordered security agencies to respond swiftly to the renewed crisis to re-establish stability and prevent further breakdown of law and order.

The Adamawa State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Lamurde Local Government Area with immediate effect following a renewed communal clash that broke out on Sunday evening,” the statement read.

Hammangabdo said security agencies have been directed to move into the area and restore peace and order without delay.

The state government also appealed to residents of Lamurde to remain peaceful and cooperate with the deployed personnel as efforts intensify to contain the situation and avert additional violence.

The fresh violence erupted barely days after Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri brokered a fragile peace deal between the warring Chobo and Bachama groups, according to Dr. Jamila Suleiman, Executive Vice Chairperson of the Adamawa State Peace Commission

When contacted on phone, the police spokesman, Adamawa State Command, S.P. Suleiman Nguroje, confirmed that some people lost their lives and that the injured were taken to a hospital for treatmen

“Actually lives were lost. But for now, we cannot give the total number of people that lost their lives but the injured have been taken to a hospital for treatment,” he said.

Nguroje said that based on the reports he received in the morning, the incident centered within Rugange and neighbouring villages, down to Wadugo

Asked on the cause of the incident, the spokesman said police had been drafted to the area to investigate the root cause, so he will not pre-empt their finding

“I plead that we should give them the opportunity to come out with their findings on what must have triggered the conflict so as to make it known to the members of the public,” he added.

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