Fbi Manhunt For Woman Accused Of Faking Terminal Brain Cancer To Scam Family And Friends Out Of Thousands

The FBI is hunting for a female accused of faking terminal encephalon cancer and scamming her loved ones retired of thousands of dollars.

Vanessa O’Rourke, a 37-year-old primitively from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, lied astir having glioblastoma, a terminal encephalon cancer, and told her friends and family she needed money for treatment, investigators alleged. She was indicted connected 15 counts of wire fraud successful 2018 and remains connected nan run.

In 2015 and 2016, O’Rourke told her loved ones she needed money to get to Australia for an “experimental treatment” — but erstwhile she traveled location successful April 2016, she “engaged successful a assortment of leisure activities and did not person immoderate aesculapian treatment,” according to nan FBI.

Once she returned, her loved ones helped raise much money for her treatment, including by launching a webpage and hosting a fundraiser astatine a restaurant, investigators said.

She traveled to Australia a 2nd clip later that year, again engaging successful “various leisure activities” and receiving “no aesculapian curen for her nonexistent illness,” nan FBI said. In total, she’s accused of scamming donors retired of $100,000, according to tribunal documents reviewed by CBS Philadelphia.

O’Rourke presently has a national warrant retired for her arrest. She’s besides gone by nan aliases Vanessa Gulinello and Cecilia Vincent Gaeta Lazaro, according to investigators. Her lawsuit was shared connected nan FBI’s Most Wanted societal media account past week.

When prosecutors unsealed O’Rourke’s indictment successful 2020, she was past known to beryllium surviving successful Queensland, Australia, according to nan U.S. Attorney’s Office for nan Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“The allegations successful this lawsuit are nauseating. O’Rourke is charged pinch preying upon nan kindness and generosity of bully group who wished to thief those successful need. As alleged, location was nary request present – only lies, greed and callous manipulation,” U.S. Attorney William McSwain said successful a connection astatine nan time.

“Misleading group astir a important aesculapian test successful bid to return advantage of their benignant hearts and unfastened wallets is reprehensible,” added Michael J. Driscoll, nan typical supplier successful complaint of nan FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

The Independent has contacted nan FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office for comment.