June 03, 2026
Kelly Wilkinson/Imagn Images
The FBI is searching for Vanessa O'Rourke, 37, who alledely faked having cancer to raise money on GoFundMe in 2015 and 2016. O'Rourke was charged in 2018 and was last known to reside in Australia, where she claimed to be undergoing experimental treatments.
A Montgomery County woman who allegedly faked having brain cancer to collect GoFundMe donations more than a decade ago was recently added to the FBI's most wanted list.
Federal authorities are seeking new tips in their search for Vanessa O'Rourke, a woman who lived in Harleysville and was accused of pocketing $11,740 from the fundraising platform that was supposedly created to cover medical costs for experimental cancer treatments. On her page, O'Rourke, now 37, claimed she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, federal prosecutors said.
Between October 2015 and July 2016, O'Rourke allegedly took money from more than 140 donors, including family and friends, to help pay for treatments she said she would undergo in Australia. O'Rourke traveled to Australia in April 2016 and "engaged in a variety of leisure activities" without receiving any medical treatment, according to the FBI.
Vanessa O’Rourke is #wanted by the #FBI for allegedly fraudulently representing to her family and friends that she had been diagnosed with a terminal form of brain cancer and needed money to aid in her medical treatment, support her while she was ill, and travel to Australia to… pic.twitter.com/5zK161mspZ
— FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) May 23, 2026
When O'Rourke returned to the United States, investigators said she had family and friends organize fundraisers, including one held at the Whitpain Tavern in Blue Bell. A Patch article at the time of the restaurant fundraiser said O'Rourke was a former medical student who had been studying to become a brain surgeon at Temple University.
With the money raised from the fundraisers and online donations, O'Rourke allegedly traveled back to Australia for leisure later in 2016. She did not undergo any treatment, prosecutors said.
O'Rourke was indicted on 15 counts of wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in May 2018 and a federal warrant was issued for her arrest. Federal authorities unsealed the indictment in September 2020. O'Rourke was last known to be residing in Queensland, Australia.
“The allegations in this case are nauseating,” former U.S. Attorney William McSwain said at the time. “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.”
O'Rourke has used aliases including Vanessa Gulinello and Cecilia Vincent Gaeta Lazaro, authorities said.
U.S. officials did not indicate whether Australian authorities are working with them to return O'Rourke to the country. The case was investigated by the FBI, the Towamencin Township Police Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia.
The FBI said anyone with information on O'Rourke's whereabouts can contact the FBI's Philadelphia field office or submit an anonymous tip online.
