The FBI is looking for a Michigan-born woman who allegedly orchestrated a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme in Southern California.

Investigators say that Mary Carole McDonnell, 73, 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 between July 2017 and May 2018, the FBI said.

“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,” the FBI said.

SHE HELPED NORTH KOREA INFILTRATE AMERICAN TECH COMPANIES

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.

She was 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.

SEN ADAM SCHIFF UNDER FEDERAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGED MORTGAGE FRAUD VIOLATIONS

She previously served as the CEO of Bellum Entertainment LLC, a Burbank-based production company, and has documented ties to Los Angeles, Montgomery, Alabama, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

A federal arrest warrant for McDonnell was issued on Dec. 12, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

A report by Deadline cites that Bellum Entertainment came under investigation by the California Labor Commission in 2017 for the alleged nonpayment of wages to dozens of former employees.

The outlet also reported that McDonnell told employees the company couldn’t meet payroll because of “significant bank fraud.”

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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.

Anyone with information on McDonnell’s whereabouts is urged to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate.

DETROIT – Three men — a doctor, an attorney, and a therapist — from Oakland and Wayne counties are involved in a web of child pornography chats, and some sexually abused young boys, according to federal officials.

The investigation into the men began after the FBI arrested a man in Toledo who had communicated with an undercover agent posing as a parent.

The man was arrested in March after traveling to Toledo in an attempt to sexually abuse a 7-year-old girl and a 6-month-old baby he believed existed.

Text messages found during the investigation revealed that all four men spoke casually about wanting to sexually abuse children, including those as young as 4 years old.

Jeremy Brian Tacon

During the investigation, agents reviewed chat conversations between Huntington Woods resident Jeremy Brian Tacon and the Toledo suspect, which reportedly included discussions expressing sexual interest in children and requests for additional child pornography.

One alleged text message to Tacon read, “Whatcha wanna see pedo?”

After Tacon responded, he reportedly received at least a dozen videos containing child sexual abuse material.

The Toledo suspect allegedly texted Tacon, “Wish we could find a kiddo and have our way together. Take him to a hotel and [explicit].”

“F*** yes brother,” Tacon reportedly sent back.

In November, the FBI executed a search warrant at Tacon’s home and seized his phone. When agents called the phone number linked to the text messages, Tacon’s phone rang.

Tacon was a licensed psychotherapist who worked at the Arbor Wellness Center.

In a statement, Arbor Wellness Center wrote, “Our first priority was, as always, ensuring client safety and continuity of care. There is no indication that these charges are related to the agency or its clients.

Mr. Tacon was an independent contractor on a limited contract and is no longer a part of the agency.”

Joshua Ronnebaum

Another man who allegedly had been texting with the Toledo suspect was Detroiter Joshua Ronnebaum.

From June 2022 to July 2023, the two men allegedly spoke about their shared interest in sexually abusing children. The Toledo suspect reportedly said he met up with Ronnebaum to do drugs, have sex and watch child sexually abusive materials.

Ronnebaum reportedly told the suspect he lived in a Detroit mansion with three other men, one of whom is also under FBI investigation.

Ronnebaum is a prominent attorney in Detroit who also reportedly served on the Palmer Woods Association Board of Directors. He practices environmental and immigration law.

Two neighbors Local 4 spoke with said they frequently interacted with Ronnebaum due to his position on the board. They said they weren’t surprised to hear about the allegations and that they were aware of all of it, stating it felt like Ronnebaum was pushing a personal agenda.

A search warrant was executed in November on the home and seized 38 media storage devices, including an iPhone that was allegedly on the nightstand next to Ronnebaum’s bed.

The iPhone’s screen was reportedly on and was displaying a prompt asking if the user wanted to confirm they wanted to delete the Telegram app.

Telegram is an encrypted messaging app, authorities said is frequently used in the distribution of sexually abusive materials.

Authorities believe Ronnebaum tried to delete Telegram when he realized the FBI was searching his home.

Another iPhone found in his closet reportedly contained more than 150 images meeting the federal definition of child pornography, including images of infants and toddlers being sexually abused.

Text messages reportedly found on Ronnebaum’s phone, where he spoke about being an English teacher in Japan and abusing a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old boy.

He allegedly shared that story with several people.

Lincoln Erickson

One of the conversations found on Ronnebaum’s phone was allegedly between him and Farmington Hills resident Lincoln Erickson.

Erickson is a physical rehabilitation doctor who graduated from Wayne State University and worked with the Detroit Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. He has since been fired from his position.

“The individual in question has been terminated from the joint WSU-DMC Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program,” read a statement from Detroit Medical Center.

Erickson and Ronnebaum allegedly spoke about wanting to travel to Thailand and sexually abusing children together.

“Love being a pedo,” read one text message.

Erickson reportedly shared a fantasy about having a relationship with a man where they would raise a child together that they would abuse and groom “from baby to adulthood.”

“Start them young,” read one message.

The FBI said Erickson reportedly shared in messages that he knows a father who allows him to abuse his 3-year-old son sexually.

Erickson was arrested at a Detroit hospital where he worked as a medical resident. During the arrest, he reportedly admitted to receiving child pornography he believed was AI-generated from a man in Chicago.

In a search of Erickson’s phone, a Telegram chat was found where he reportedly asked another man to share videos with him.

“Bro, I love other pedophiles,” he allegedly told the man. “So hot.”

Authorities said Erickson is currently on probation for a 2024 domestic violence case.

All three men — Tacon, Ronnebaum, and Erickson — are now facing federal charges related to possession and distribution of child pornography.

Ronnebaum and Erickson are expected to appear in court Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m.

Parents, caregivers, and teachers can receive guidance on safeguarding children from online and offline dangers, including child abductions and sexual exploitation.

To report online child sexual exploitation, use the Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678, operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in collaboration with the FBI and other agencies.

• Wisconsin Lutheran remains the top-ranked team in the Milwaukee area high school boys basketball rankings.
• Arrowhead, Greendale and Oak Creek joined the top-10 rankings this week.
• Wauwatosa West was named team of the week after securing three wins, including two in conference play.
• Several key matchups are scheduled for the upcoming week, including Brookfield Central at Wauwatosa West.

After some early-season nonconference bouts, Milwaukee area high school boys basketball teams began to get into the meat of their schedules last week with conference contests to establish the early pecking order.

One such battle was in the Southeast Conference between last week’s No. 2 team Racine Park and then unranked Franklin, which went 66-53 to the Sabers. Another notable pair of finals were the top-10 matchups for Wisconsin Lutheran last week, as the Vikings beat Slinger (68-46) and New Berlin West (69-20) to maintain their hold on the top spot while dropping the latter to others considered this week. Arrowhead, Greendale and Oak Creek join the top 10 in place of Greenfield, New Berlin West and Milwaukee Academy of Science.

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Dropped from the others considered this week are Germantown (1-2), Golda Meir (3-2) and Howard Fuller Collegiate (3-2), as Kenosha Indian Trail, Franklin and Whitefish Bay fill up their vacated spots among top-10 considerations.

Here are our full area rankings, others considered, team of the week and matchups to watch this week.

AREA RANKINGS

Team (W-L), last week

1. Wisconsin Lutheran (4-0), 1
2. West Allis Central (4-0), 3
3. Wauwatosa West (5-1), 4
4. Kettle Moraine (5-0), 5
5. Brookfield East (5-0), 7
6. Arrowhead (5-0), –
7. Slinger (3-1), 6
8. Racine Park (3-1), 2
9. Greendale (5-0), –
10. Oak Creek (4-0), –

Others considered: Franklin (2-1), Greenfield (3-2), Hartford (3-1), Homestead (3-1), Lake Country Lutheran (3-0), Kenosha Indian Trail (3-0), Milwaukee Academy of Science (3-2), Milwaukee Lutheran (5-0), New Berlin West (3-1), Whitefish Bay (4-1).

TEAM OF THE WEEK