Michigan fraudster once honored by Biden posed as US ambassador, bank owner to steal $1M from victims to fund lavish lifestyle
Call her Money Steal.A Detroit businesswoman, once honored by President Joe Biden, allegedly posed as a US ambassador and a banker to con several victims out of over $1 million to fund her lavish lifestyle.Shannon Monet Steel claimed to be the Ambassador to the First Lady of the Central African Republic, a hotel owner and a banker with $350 million in assets to fool her victims in her years-long scheme, federal prosecutors accused, according to the Detroit News on Wednesday.Steel, 42, was arrested and slapped with fraud charges after allegedly targeting at least eight victims between 2022 and 2026, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.The Detroit “mogul” curated her online life as a high-rolling, prominent leader, showing off multiple awards and recognitions, her interactions with high-profile politicians and international trips.Steel is accused of swindling her first victim, a California investor, when she forged a false “Bank confirmation letter” from Deutsche Bank and claimed her own bank, Steel Private Bank, held over 300,000,000 euros.The falsified letter convinced the victim to wire $200,000 to an escrow account in exchange for a Standby Letter of Credit, the charging documents alleged.Bank officials later determined the “bank confirmation letter” was a fake.Officials also discovered Steel Private Bank was registered in the US and wasn’t FDIC insured.Steel used her self-named “entities” to defraud at least $1.05 million from eight others by assuring them millions in loans from Steel Private Bank but instead “pocketing the good faith escrow funds” from the trusting victims, officials claimed in an Emergency Ex-Parte motion filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Sept.10.Steel used the funds to rent and lease several luxury cars, including a 2022 Maserati Levante and a 2013 Bentley Coupe that cost upwards of $215,000, the outlet reported.She also paid off credit cards and used $56,000 to rent...