When the television production company Jeff Nimoy worked for began falling behind on payroll in 2017, the Los Angeles showrunner wasn\u2019t alarmed.<\/p>\n
Bellum Entertainment was a \u201cmachine,\u201d he said, producing a steady slate of true crime shows, children\u2019s TV and documentaries. At one point, the company had upward of 30 shows on air or in development, including \u201cIt Takes a Killer.\u201d <\/p>\n
Like his colleagues, Nimoy also believed the company\u2019s CEO, Mary Carole McDonnell<\/a>, was a wealthy aviation heiress with access to millions of dollars. <\/p>\n \u201cI was like, there\u2019s no way this thing\u2019s going down, they\u2019ve got too much capital,\u201d said Nimoy, who believed at one point that he would spend the next 20 years of his career at Bellum. <\/p>\n But that dream vanished when his paychecks stopped and Bellum Entertainment abruptly shut down. Nearly a decade later, Nimoy is still waiting to be paid over $16,000 \u2014 and McDonnell is a fugitive<\/a> sought by the FBI after, it says, she falsely posed as the heir to the McDonnell aircraft family to defraud California banks out of nearly $30 million total.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody was right, and I was wrong,\u201d Nimoy said. <\/p>\n This month, the FBI released a most-wanted bulletin<\/a> seeking information about McDonnell, 73, who was federally indicted in 2018 on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Investigators allege that from July 2017 to May 2018, McDonnell used forged documents and claimed she had access to a secret $80 million trust fund as part of her scheme. <\/p>\n Federal investigators believe McDonnell is in Dubai.<\/p>\n While McDonnell faces criminal charges that she duped banks, former Bellum employees, family members and court records describe what they say was her fall from being a prolific television producer to an alleged con artist who left a long trail of victims.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been seeking her whereabouts,\u201d FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller told NBC News, noting that new information about allegations of continued misdeeds abroad has prompted the FBI to ask the public for help.<\/p>\n The McDonnell aircraft family eventually sold the corporation. The James S. McDonnell Foundation didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The only biographical detail in McDonnell\u2019s aviation dynasty story that a relative knew to be accurate was her ties to St. Louis. The relative asked not to be identified to protect other family members.<\/p>\n McDonnell was born in Michigan and has ties to Alabama, the FBI said<\/a>. But the relative said McDonnell grew up in the St. Louis area, where the McDonnell Douglas aircraft company was founded. <\/p>\n The relative said that while McDonnell\u2019s father was \u201cwell off\u201d and owned a successful grocery store, she would \u201cinflate her value\u201d and make up stories about being connected to McDonnell Douglas Corp<\/a>. The company was known for producing airplane parts during World War II, developing the Navy\u2019s first carrier-based jet fighter and shaping space exploration and aviation. <\/p>\n \u201cI talked directly with her dad … and he laughed and said, \u2018No, there\u2019s no connection there,\u2019\u201d the relative said. \u201cI was silly enough not to challenge her on that. But she would continue to tout that connection, adamant that she would inherit this huge sum of money.\u201d<\/p>\n Details of McDonnell\u2019s early career and when she relocated to California aren\u2019t immediately clear. According to former Bellum Entertainment employees, McDonnell continued to claim she was a dynasty scion. <\/p>\n Brian Testa was hired as a producer and director for Bellum Entertainment\u2019s Burbank location in July 2016. He initially saw the opportunity to work on true crime re-enactment shows like \u201cMurderous Affairs\u201d and \u201cDeep Undercover\u201d as a new adventure.<\/p>\n \u201cI came from a lot of reality [television]. So scripted, while keeping the story true to the person who was the victim, usually it was murder, I would tell that story as visually entertaining as I could,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Testa said his crew often worked 12-hour days scouting locations, filming and getting the props needed for shows. McDonnell was always in and out of the office, he said.<\/p>\n Testa said McDonnell projected wealth \u2014 driving a Porsche, working out of an office with \u201crich wood everywhere\u201d and carrying herself like someone who would enjoy \u201cfive-star hotels and definitely the lavish lifestyle.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cShe dressed nice … but always seemed slightly disheveled,\u201d he said, adding that the office rumors suggested she came from money. \u201cI definitely heard two different stories while I was there. One was the McDonnell Douglas heiress, and then the other was that there was a family trust set up for her.\u201d<\/p>\n When the checks started bouncing and the facade of generational wealth began to crumble, Testa said, McDonnell always had an explanation for the late payments. Sometimes she would blame them on a line of credit that didn\u2019t come through, and other times she\u2019d tell her employees that there was \u201csignificant bank fraud\u201d affecting company finances, Testa said.<\/p>\n When people did get paid, Testa said, there was a rush to cash the checks.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d he said. \u201cI had a lot of bounced checks.\u201d<\/p>\n For Carlos Franco, doubts about Bellum Entertainment began almost as soon as he was hired as a production assistant at the company\u2019s New Orleans office in 2016. <\/p>\n He began hearing complaints from his colleagues about not being paid while he was working on \u201cMurderous Affairs.\u201d Then, his first paycheck was late, and the excuses started.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was always some issue with the bank or the money that they were supposed to be getting wasn\u2019t released to them yet, or they had to change banks, or they were getting a loan,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Unaware of the payroll issues alleged to be plaguing Bellum, Aaron Cadieux began working for the company in 2017 after having been contacted to help with a show, \u201cMysteries of the Unexplained.\u201d<\/p>\n The production company wanted Cadieux as its director of photography for an episode filming in Massachusetts about the Bridgewater Triangle, a roughly 200-square-mile area in the state known for what some people believe is paranormal activity.<\/p>\n Cadieux, who lives in Massachusetts and owns a video production company, had never heard of Bellum \u2014 but he jumped at the opportunity. The company paid him $500 upfront, which he said gave him \u201csome peace of mind\u201d and even provided him with a camera.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they even provided lunch and all that kind of stuff. I mean, it was a skeleton operation. It wasn\u2019t like some huge-budget thing, but I was completely at ease,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Like the others, Cadieux said he began quickly noticing red flags. While the two-day shoot wrapped in the spring of 2017, he said, he was still waiting to be paid his remaining $2,000 invoice by the end of the summer. <\/p>\n Cadieux said he sent emails and called Bellum for months for updates on his payment.<\/p>\n \u201cI apologize for the delays in payment. We have fallen a bit behind. A payment is being processed and will be sent out this week,\u201d a Bellum employee who worked in accounts payable said in a July 26, 2017, email that Cadieux shared with NBC News.<\/p>\n Cadieux said he never received the July payment. In a Nov. 10, 2017, email, the employee suggested that Cadieux\u2019s check had been mailed and apologized for the delay. When Cadieux once again didn\u2019t receive his money, he told NBC News, he eventually emailed McDonnell and threatened to create a website exposing her for not paying employees.<\/p>\n \u201cThey wired me my money. I got paid, but what about the rest of these people? So I said screw it,\u201d he said, noting that he only briefly launched the website. <\/p>\n Around the same time, Bellum\u2019s troubles began to make headlines<\/a>, and the company was eventually slapped with dozens of wage claims lawsuits in Los Angeles County. Online court records show that McDonnell has been named in numerous civil cases.<\/p>\nAn alleged false legacy<\/h2>\n
\u2018I had a lot of bounced checks,\u2019 ex-Bellum worker says<\/h2>\n
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