By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-02 10:51:48 | Updated at 2026-10-02 11:24:52
34 minutes ago
See more of our coverage in your search results.
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 a home in Northville Township, Mich.
Steel documented her life on social media, promoting herself as Ambassador Steel, wearing merchandise of her fake bank and sharing accomplishments for her false work that earned her national recognition.
“As the newly appointed Ambassador for the First Lady of C.A.R. NGO on a mission to eradicate poverty, I am committed to developing economic stability in the Central African Republic by providing the necessary essentials to its citizens,” Steel wrote on her Shannon Steel Foundation website.
“My top priority is to represent the country’s history, ideals, and interests. To do so, I am aware of the expectations and will strive to meet them to the best of my ability.
Officials were tipped off to Steel’s fake ambassadorship after a reporter contacted the Department of State trying to verify Steel’s credentials.
In 2024, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris presented Steel with the Lifetime Presidential Achievement Award.
Steel shared a poster of the award that labeled her as the CEO of Steel Private Bank, Ambassador and Hedge Fund Owner.
The achievement was “certified by President Biden” as part of the President’s Volunteer Service Awards program and featured photos of Steel, Biden and Harris.
Steel was presented the award without any documentation that she had completed the required 4,000 hours of lifetime volunteer service, the presenter told investigators.
AmeriCorps, the operator of the awards, told investigators Steel being awarded the achievement was inconsistent with program guidelines and she shouldn’t have been given the award based on the information known at the time.
The fraudster boosted her resume when she claimed she acquired and later renovated an Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel for $3,000,000, flipping it to a Wyndham in Southfield, Mich.
Officials discovered the hotel was never granted a certificate of occupancy and never given the authorization to open.
Ramada Worldwide, Inc. won a default judgment against Steel and other defendants for breach of franchise agreement and was awarded $1,558,444.79, according to the court records.
Steel was framed as a con artist with a history of bankruptcies who has used stolen funds to pay off victims who became suspicious of her antics.
“These allegations are only a relevant summary of what Steel is known to be doing to hide and spend criminal proceeds,” Assistant US Attorney K. Craig Welkener wrote. “Her actual efforts are almost certainly more substantial.”
