Vanessa O'Rourke allegedly scammed well-meaning people out of nearly $12,000 to use to travel to Australia for fun, authorities said
Credit: FBI
NEED TO KNOW
- The FBI announced that Vanessa O’Rourke, 37, of Pennsylvania, remains wanted for allegedly faking a cancer diagnosis and scamming people out of money to help pay for “nonexistent” treatments
- O’Rourke was indicted in 2018 on 15 counts of wire fraud in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- She may be in Queensland, Australia, authorities said
Authorities continue to search for a former Pennsylvania woman who allegedly bilked thousands of dollars from people in a fraudulent “GoFundMe” cancer scheme a decade ago.
On Saturday, May 23, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it is still searching for Vanessa O'Rourke, 37, formerly of Harleysville, who was last known to be living in Queensland, Australia.
On May 3, 2018, a federal warrant was issued for O'Rourke's arrest after she was indicted on 15 counts of wire fraud in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
O'Rourke is wanted by the FBI for fraudulently telling family and friends that she had been diagnosed with terminal glioblastoma, a brain cancer, according to authorities.
She allegedly told them she needed money for medical treatment and to support her while she was ill.
Credit: FBI
Between October of 2015 and July of 2016, O'Rourke told her family and friends that she needed to travel to Australia to undergo an experimental treatment, which her family and others helped fund, the FBI alleges.
In or around April 2016, O'Rourke traveled to Australia, “where she engaged in a variety of leisure activities and did not receive any medical treatment,” the FBI alleges.
When she returned to the U.S., she allegedly had her friends and family organize two fundraisers on her behalf, one online and one held at a local restaurant in Pennsylvania.
More than 140 people donated a total of $11,740 to O'Rourke's fundraising campaign through GoFundMe, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a statement in September 2020.
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“The allegations in this case are nauseating,” former U.S. Attorney William McSwain said in 2020. “O'Rourke is charged with preying upon the kindness and generosity of good people who wished to help those in need. As alleged, there was no need here – only lies, greed and callous manipulation.”
Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division, said, “Misleading people about a significant medical diagnosis in order to take advantage of their kind hearts and open wallets is reprehensible."
“As alleged, Vanessa O'Rourke scammed friends and family alike, convincing them to donate money toward her supposed medical care," Driscoll continued. "Instead, those funds supported her lifestyle and leisure. When someone commits such financial fraud, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will work to hold them accountable.”
Anyone with information about O'Rourke's whereabouts is asked to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate.
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