From fake heiress to fugitive: Former employees detail alleged long con blamed on true crime producer
NBC News • • nation
Key Points:
- Bellum Entertainment, a prolific television production company, abruptly shut down in 2017 amid payroll issues, leaving many employees, including showrunner Jeff Nimoy, unpaid; Nimoy is still owed over $16,000 nearly a decade later.
- The company's CEO, Mary Carole McDonnell, falsely claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Douglas aircraft family and used forged documents to defraud California banks out of nearly $30 million, according to federal investigators.
- McDonnell was federally indicted in 2018 on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and is currently a fugitive believed to be in Dubai, with the FBI actively seeking public assistance to locate her.
- Former Bellum employees reported bounced paychecks, delayed payments,
