Former Hollywood executive Mary Carole McDonnell joined the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list over an alleged nearly $30 million bank fraud scheme, with authorities saying she is living in Dubai.

Mary Carole McDonnell, the 75-year-old former chief executive of Bellum Entertainment, is wanted on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft tied to an alleged scheme across Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Breitbart News reported.

Federal authorities say she fraudulently obtained nearly $30 million from California banks. A federal arrest warrant has been outstanding since 2018. The FBI is now offering a $150,000 reward for information that leads to her arrest and conviction.

She remains at large. Officials believe she is currently living in Dubai.

Payroll collapsed, then the company shut down

McDonnell ran Bellum Entertainment until the company suddenly shut down in 2017 after its payroll collapsed. Former employees later described a workplace where paychecks and bank accounts never seemed stable.

One former worker told NBC News the staff raced to cash checks before the money disappeared.

"There would be a mad dash out the door to get them to the banks before the banks would close so you could cash them, because they would move money around."

The same employee added a blunt bottom line.

"I had a lot of bounced checks,"

Another ex-employee described the same pattern of last-minute excuses and shifting accounts.

"It was always some issue with the bank or the money that they were supposed to be getting wasn’t released to them yet, or they had to change banks, or they were getting a loan."

Those accounts match what investigators later put on paper. Between July 2017 and May 2018, authorities say McDonnell obtained $14.7 million from a bank even though she knew she was not entitled to the funds. She has not repaid the money. Officials also accuse her of defrauding other financial institutions in a similar way.

False heiress story and a string of aliases

Investigators say McDonnell did not only chase loans. She also built a false personal story. She claimed to be an heiress to the McDonnell aircraft family and faked her inheritance and background, according to the reporting.

She is known by multiple aliases, including Mary Carole Carroll, Mary Carol McDonnell, Mary Carroll McDonnell, Mary C. Carroll, and Mary Carroll McDonald. That kind of identity shuffling is exactly what aggravated identity theft charges are built to stop.

High-profile law enforcement cases often draw intense public attention, much like midterm media pushes that put powerful names back in the spotlight. Fraud cases that cross state and national lines demand the same focus.

FBI says public tips could break the case

Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said the bureau is working with partners abroad and expects to catch her.

"It’s just a matter of time before McDonnell is caught as we work with our international partners to locate her,"

Grandy also pointed to the reward and the value of ordinary people who come forward.

"A generous reward is being offered in exchange for information leading to her apprehension and conviction, and a tip from the public might break the case,"

The FBI is urging anyone with information to contact a local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, call 800-CALL-FBI, or submit a tip through the bureau’s online tip site.

Serious investigations only work when agencies chase evidence instead of excuses, a point raised again in coverage of a deputies union fight over a compromised probe. Wanted posters and cash rewards exist for the same reason: unfinished cases leave victims unpaid.

Warrant sat for years while the trail went overseas

The core timeline is simple. Bellum’s payroll failed and the company closed in 2017. Authorities say the $14.7 million bank draw happened from mid-2017 into May 2018. A federal warrant followed in 2018. Years later, McDonnell is on the Most Wanted Fraudsters list and believed to be in Dubai.

Banks in California are the named financial victims. Employees who watched checks bounce lived with the immediate mess. Taxpayers and depositors ultimately sit behind the institutions that lose money when large fraud goes unpaid.

The public still lacks a full charging document, named banks, and an exact date for the Most Wanted listing in the available reporting. What is not in dispute is the warrant, the dollar figures authorities cite, the shutdown of Bellum Entertainment, and the FBI’s decision to raise the profile of the manhunt with a six-figure reward.

People who empty bank accounts and skip the country should not get to age out of accountability overseas. The FBI just put that principle on a wanted poster.