The True Crime Con: The TV Producer Who Faked a Fortune
Mary Carole McDonnell spent decades in television producing true crime shows. But in 2017, she allegedly pulled off a multimillion-dollar con of her own.
Her company, Bellum Entertainment, made syndicated true crime shows like Corrupt Crimes, Murderous Affairs and I Married a Murderer. In December 2017, she walked into a bank and said she was heir to the McDonnell Douglas aerospace fortune — with an $80 million trust about to pay out. The bank extended her a line of credit, and over the next six weeks, she obtained $14.7 million.
She drove a Porsche and kept a boat in Newport Beach. Meanwhile…
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