Crime
A Woman Is Wanted for Lying About Terminal Brain Cancer to Raise Money for an Australian Vacation
A Pennsylvania woman is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly lying about having brain cancer to raise money for two vacations to Australia.
Vanessa O’Rourke, 37, was charged in 2018 for wire fraud related to soliciting donations under the false pretense that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of terminal brain cancer, in 2015 and 2016. She allegedly convinced friends and family to donate money so she could travel to Australia and undergo experimental treatment, according to the FBI.
The FBI states that she indeed used the money to travel to Australia, where “she engaged in a variety of leisure activities and did not receive any medical treatment.”
Upon her return to the United States, O’Rourke again convinced friends and family to organize two fundraisers for her fake cancer. One was an in-person event at a local restaurant, and the other was a GoFundMe page. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania says 140 people donated a total of $11,740 to her GoFundMe.
The FBI says she then used these funds once again to travel to Australia, where she received no medical treatment “for her nonexistent illness.”
She was indicted on 15 counts of wire fraud resulting from her various fraudulent fundraising efforts, but remains at large after a federal warrant was issued for her arrest on May 13, 2018. The FBI speculates that she is likely hiding out in Australia, per NBC’s WGAL.
The FBI is asking for the public’s assistance in locating O’Rourke, urging anyone with information to contact their local FBI office or nearest American embassy.
