PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A 37-year-old former Montgomery County woman has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list, more than a decade after investigators said she conned an estimated $100,000 from family and friends.
The FBI said Vanessa O’Rourke, formerly of Harleysville, claimed she had a terminal form of brain cancer and told the victims she needed money for an experimental treatment in Australia.
According to court records, relatives and friends financed two trips to Australia with their own money, a public GoFundMe campaign and other fundraisers.
However, according to the FBI, O’Rourke never received any experimental treatment in Australia; instead, she went on vacation there and engaged in several “leisure activities.”
FBI
She was indicted in 2018 on 15 counts of wire fraud.
Anyone with information about O’Rourke is asked to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Tips can also be submitted anonymously online.
