Reported by SHEKARI PHILEMON

(Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://rollingout.com/2025/12/09/73-pulls-off-shocking-30m-scam/)

Look, we’ve all embellished our resumes a bit. Maybe you claimed to be “proficient” in Excel when you really just know how to make a pivot table. But allegedly pretending to be an heiress with access to an $80 million trust fund? That’s taking creative storytelling to a whole new level.

A 73-year-old Michigan woman Mary Carole McDonnell is currently on the FBI’s most wanted list for what authorities describe as an absolutely audacious yearlong fraud scheme. We’re talking nearly $30 million allegedly scammed from banks and financial institutions. The kind of number that makes you wonder how someone pulls this off without anyone asking basic follow-up questions.

Here’s where it gets wild. The woman allegedly claimed to be an heir to a famous aircraft manufacturing family and said she had access to a secret trust worth tens of millions. Plot twist: that aircraft company doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s like claiming you’re the heir to Blockbuster Video’s fortune, except someone actually believed it.

The entertainment industry connection nobody saw coming

Around the same time this alleged scheme was happening, the woman ran an entertainment production company. Not just any company, but one that made true crime shows. Yes, you read that right. Shows about crimes. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife dipped in poetic justice.

This company produced programs focused on deception and criminal behavior. It’s the kind of detail that makes you think reality is just messing with us at this point. Like the universe has a really dark sense of humor.

But here’s the thing: the company was apparently struggling. Payroll issues. Financial obligations piling up. The kind of money problems that would make anyone stressed, though most people don’t allegedly respond by launching a multi-million dollar fraud operation. Most of us just stress-eat ice cream and hope our credit cards don’t get declined.

How the alleged mcdonnell scam actually worked

The alleged operation ran from mid-2017 through spring 2018. Nearly a full year of reportedly convincing financial institutions that this secret trust existed and that she had legitimate access to it. That’s commitment to a bit, if nothing else.

Federal authorities say she claimed ties to a specific aircraft manufacturing legacy. The company was real once upon a time, which probably helped sell the story.