A Michigan woman sold herself as a female mogul with a $350 million business empire, private bank and hotel… but now a very different story has emerged.
Shannon Monet Steel, 42, told people she kept her nine-figure fortune in her own private bank and that she was an Ambassador to the Central African Republic.
She was handed an award from then-President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris and hobnobbed with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, as well as top African political luminaries.
Steel, of Detroit, painted a picture of herself as a modern day Alexis Carrington, the female tycoon and socialite played by Joan Collins in 1980s soap opera Dynasty.
But federal prosecutors say Steel’s wealth was all a lie – and have now charged her with conning one investor into sending her $200,000 by falsely portraying herself as a successful businesswoman.
She was hit with a single count of wire fraud earlier this week and faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted. Steel has yet to enter a plea but remains on bail.
On Wednesday, she took to LinkedIn and wrote an all-capital letters post saying: ‘Believe none of what you hear and a small fraction of what you see!!’
The complaint against Steel, seen by the Daily Mail, claimed she used a phony letter from Deutsche Bank to claim that she held an account with around $350 million in it to swindle money from a California-based entrepreneur.
Shannon Monet Steel told people she kept her nine-figure fortune in her own private bank and that she was an Ambassador to the Central African Republic, prosecutors claimed
Steel, of Detroit, painted a picture of herself as a modern day Alexis Carrington, the female tycoon and socialite played by Joan Collins in 1980s soap opera Dynasty
Investigators at Deutsche probed the letter and later told investigators that it was a fake, the complaint said.
Prosecutors allege in the criminal complaint that it was part of a scheme by Steel to present herself as being credible.
The complaint also painted Steel as being a serial fabricator who used her social media and YouTube to falsely give the impression of being a successful businesswoman.
Such lies, the complaint claimed, saw her managing to be given a Lifetime President Achievement Award by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
That award was set up to honor Americans who dedicated over 4,000 hours of volunteering. Steel is said to have lied about completing those volunteer hours to further enhance her image.
Records seen by the Daily Mail indicate that Steel has a history of bankruptcy and unemployment.
In 2014 she filed for bankruptcy saying that she was unemployed, had a small amount of money in her checking account and was due over $18,800 to creditors.
She also currently lives at home with her mother in a comfortable but modest $500,000 home in a quiet suburb, that sits close to a McDonald’s, according to public records.
And while Steel’s own website painted her as an Ambassador to the Central African Republic, federal prosecutors said she was never a diplomat.
Steel is seen shaking hands with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (right) in a post that Steel shared to LinkedIn
Images posted on her site include images of her with former Namibian President Hage Geingob, it is unclear when these pictures were taken.
The complaint highlighted a series of posts to her Facebook and Instagram page, which have since been deleted, in which she addressed herself as Ambassador Steel.
Quoting her posts, the complaint said she had posted Instagram saying: ‘I was just sworn in as Ambassador for Central African Republic to the United States.’
A post to her Facebook page continued the charade, the complaint claimed, saying she posted: ‘I put a whole country on my back #AMBASSADOR STEEL.’
Despite her claims, the complaint said: ‘Records with the US Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions indicate that [Steel] is not an accredited diplomat.
‘Nor is she an employee of the United States Government in any capacity as an Ambassador or diplomat to any other country.’
In reference to the presidential award, the complaint said that an associate of hers, identified only as ‘LG’, put her forward for the award after Steel asked them to.
‘LG’ has since spoken with federal investigators, claiming that she signed off on the volunteering hours after just looking at Steel’s resume, the complaint added.
Steel is seen here alongside the Mayor of Washington DC Muriel Bowser
‘Steel’s award was inconsistent with program guidelines and requirements and would not have been genuinely awarded given the information provided’, the complaint said.
The complaint also alleged that Steel made public comments that she had acquired an Embassy Suites by Hilton.
Those comments, which are still live on US Times Now, also saw her claim she carried out a renovation at the property worth $3 million and turned it into a Wyndham Hotel.
Federal investigators claimed in their complaint that they spoke with officials in Southfield, where the hotel was said to be, who told them they never issued a Certificate of Occupancy meaning it was never authorized to open.
A separate federal case filed against her by the owners of Wyndham, Ramada Worldwide, saw the company awarded $1.5 million after she breached their franchise agreement, a federal judge in New Jersey found.
The complaint highlighted a series of posts to her Facebook and Instagram page, which have since been deleted, in which she addressed herself as Ambassador Steel
Steel is seen in an image shared to her website with former President of Namibia Hage Geingob
Her website and social media pages also pointed to her owning ‘Steel Private Bank’, but the complaint said that such a company was never registered with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
It added: ‘Based on the aforementioned facts, Shannon Steel has displayed a public persona as the owner of a bank with significant assets, an Ambassador, and a successful hotel owner, with representations that are either materially false or grossly misleading.
‘During the course of investigation into conduct of Shannon Steel between 2022 and present, investigators with the FBI, IRS, and DSS spoke with investors and business partners of Steel who referenced their knowledge and research of these achievements as reasons, at least in part, of why they found her a credible and trustworthy individual with whom to invest.’
Deutsche told investigators that the letter Steel is alleged to have used was ‘not issued by us and is not authentic.’
Steel was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond following a hearing in federal court earlier this week, court records said.
The Daily Mail contacted Steel and her attorney for comment.
