{"id":12390,"date":"2026-08-30T12:02:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T12:02:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:02:40","slug":"tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/","title":{"rendered":"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Mary Carole McDonnell once led Bellum Entertainment, a television production company whose programming included true-crime shows and an uplifting home makeover series. The company’s former chief executive is now the subject of an FBI<\/a> manhunt tied to a federal fraud case involving millions of dollars.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege McDonnell fled to Dubai<\/a> after using false claims about an $80 million trust and fabricating trust-company documents to obtain a $15 million loan, receiving roughly $14.7 million from Banc of California. The former host of Bellum\u2019s makeover show says he was left speechless when a reporter told him about the case this week.<\/p>\n

Antonio Sabato Jr., who hosted the syndicated series “Fix It & Finish It,” said he was stunned to learn of the case against McDonnell, the former Bellum executive he remembered as the business force behind the show.<\/p>\n

“I didn\u2019t know anything at all until you guys called,” Sabato told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

6 IN 10 IDENTITY CRIMES NOW BEGIN WITH A NEW ACCOUNT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

McDonnell was indicted in federal court in 2018 on five counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.<\/p>\n

Investigators say that McDonnell is wanted on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with the alleged scheme carried out in Los Angeles and Orange counties<\/a> between July 2017 and May 2018, the FBI said.<\/p>\n

“Beginning in approximately July 2017 and continuing to May of 2018, McDonnell is alleged to have knowingly, and with intent to defraud, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money, funds, assets, and property owned by Banc of California<\/a>,” the FBI said.<\/p>\n

Federal investigators say McDonnell posed as an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft family and falsely claimed she would eventually gain access to an $80 million secret trust.<\/p>\n

She was allegedly able to obtain approximately $14.7 million from Banc of California, although she knew she was not authorized and did not repay it. She used similar methods to defraud other financial institutions of more than $15 million, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n

FBI HUNTS MOST WANTED NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR WHO ALLEGEDLY FAKED CANCER, SCAMMED LOVED ONES FOR LUXURY GETAWAYS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The bureau\u2019s active wanted notice says the agency believes she is currently in Dubai. A federal arrest warrant for McDonnell was issued on Dec. 12, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.<\/p>\n

Sabato told Fox News Digital he was hired as the host, creator and producer of “Fix It & Finish It” and was not involved in Bellum\u2019s finances. The series sent him and a small crew from city to city to renovate homes for families in need, he said.<\/p>\n

He described the show as physically demanding but deeply meaningful work, with the team completing a different home project each weekday.<\/p>\n

GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“It was called \u2018Fix It & Finish It,\u2019 but it was really fixing their souls,” Sabato said. “I\u2019ve seen grown men, grown women, just [in] tears.”<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Sabato said he had no firsthand knowledge of the allegations against McDonnell and did not see warning signs at the time. He also said he was never contacted by the FBI or other federal investigators after the indictment against McDonnell was filed.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON X<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, he said, he remembered McDonnell as a polished executive who spoke about Bellum\u2019s shows and the potential of the renovation series during meetings at the company\u2019s Burbank office.<\/p>\n

READ <\/strong>THE INDICTMENT:<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Sabato said the show\u2019s sudden end had long puzzled him and now he was left “speechless” after learning the extent of McDonnell’s alleged fraud.<\/p>\n

FBI LAUNCHES ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AS DOJ CHARGES OHIO DEFENDANTS IN $30M MEDICAID SCHEME FOR KIDS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“It felt weird,” Sabato said when Bellum canceled the hit renovation series. “And I said, something’s going on. I just felt something was up. And then my producer called me and said that they pulled the plug.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE U.S. NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

He said the criminal case has now given him a new context for the company\u2019s financial troubles.<\/p>\n

GET BREAKING NEWS ALERTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I would want to ask her someday, ‘Why did you do that? Why would you go and create this hell?'”<\/p>\n

SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

SEND US A TIP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Fox News Digital has reached out to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Banc of California and the FBI’s Los Angeles field office for comment. An attorney for McDonnell was not immediately available.<\/p>\n

GOT A TIP?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Investigators say they believe that McDonnell is currently in Dubai and describe her as a White female, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighing 145 pounds, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a scar on her right knee.<\/p>\n

Anyone with information on McDonnell\u2019s whereabouts is urged to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate.<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

– FOX NEWS<\/p>\n

This article appeared on the website foxnews.com
\nThis article is taken based on Law no. 8\/1996 of Romania. News does not enjoy copyright, so they can be taken, this is our right to take news and information in its entirety and distribute them further. The content was made available to us through the rss mechanism
\nOriginal Content<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mary Carole McDonnell once led Bellum Entertainment, a television production company whose programming included true-crime shows and an uplifting home makeover series. The company’s former chief executive is now the subject of an FBI manhunt tied to a federal fraud case involving millions of dollars. Prosecutors allege McDonnell fled to Dubai after using false claims […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1150,1],"tags":[2317,126,6314,7075,13023,235,2488,5237,382,2627,3252,43,1778,3430,2,13022,320],"class_list":["post-12390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fox-news","category-news","tag-accused","tag-before","tag-exec","tag-faking","tag-floored","tag-former","tag-fortune","tag-fugitive","tag-her","tag-leaving","tag-millions","tag-of","tag-star","tag-tv","tag-usersbook","tag-vanishing","tag-with"],"yoast_head":"\nTV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored - News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mary Carole McDonnell once led Bellum Entertainment, a television production company whose programming included true-crime shows and an uplifting home makeover series. The company’s former chief executive is now the subject of an FBI manhunt tied to a federal fraud case involving millions of dollars. Prosecutors allege McDonnell fled to Dubai after using false claims […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-30T12:02:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Misu Videan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Misu Videan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/\",\"name\":\"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored - News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-30T12:02:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-30T12:02:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7d76dd7ecd7d235e40cce6ec62083b69\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Prima pagin\u0103\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/\",\"name\":\"News\",\"description\":\"Euro TV News Agency\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7d76dd7ecd7d235e40cce6ec62083b69\",\"name\":\"Misu Videan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2584ffca062277b8497cf6c9182e423c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2584ffca062277b8497cf6c9182e423c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Misu Videan\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.ziaruldebanat.ro\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/author\/mihai_vidjean\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored - News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored - News","og_description":"Mary Carole McDonnell once led Bellum Entertainment, a television production company whose programming included true-crime shows and an uplifting home makeover series. The company’s former chief executive is now the subject of an FBI manhunt tied to a federal fraud case involving millions of dollars. Prosecutors allege McDonnell fled to Dubai after using false claims […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/","og_site_name":"News","article_published_time":"2026-08-30T12:02:40+00:00","author":"Misu Videan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Misu Videan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/","url":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/","name":"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored - News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-30T12:02:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-30T12:02:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7d76dd7ecd7d235e40cce6ec62083b69"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/tv-exec-fugitive-accused-of-faking-fortune-before-vanishing-with-millions-leaving-her-former-star-floored\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Prima pagin\u0103","item":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions \u2013 leaving her former star floored"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/","name":"News","description":"Euro TV News Agency","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7d76dd7ecd7d235e40cce6ec62083b69","name":"Misu Videan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2584ffca062277b8497cf6c9182e423c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2584ffca062277b8497cf6c9182e423c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Misu Videan"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.ziaruldebanat.ro"],"url":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/author\/mihai_vidjean\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}