FBI's 'Most Wanted' fugitive made mysterious call for help before vanishing
One of America’s 'most wanted' fugitives is said to have made a desperate call for help while on the run after allegedly swindling a ‘nauseating’ amount of money.
Now that Kash Patel, the FBI’s director, has revealed a public list has been created for so-called fraudsters, and not just for ‘gangbangers’ and violent criminals, Vanessa O’Rourke’s alleged crimes can be seen by everyone.
The 37-year-old has been on the run for years after allegedly using the kindness of friends and families to fund her lavish vacations in Australia, under the pretence of undergoing aggressive cancer treatments abroad.
The FBI announced on May 23 that O’Rourke is on their list after she took off from the country once indicted in 2018.
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Authorities allege O’Rourke, a native to Pennsylvania, falsely claimed she was suffering from glioblastoma, between the years of 2015 and 2016.
Prosecutors claim she used GoFundMe campaigns and local fundraisers to rack up over $100,000 in donations, which she then spent on travel and luxury goods.
However, she allegedly got back in touch with someone from her past and pleaded with them to help her out.
That person was her ex-husband, Michael Gulinello.
According to Gulinello, 42, the alleged con is said to have called him in 2020 despite getting divorced in 2011.
“She somehow got a hold of me. She called and asked me if I could send her proof we got divorced because her mum can’t do it,” Gulinello told news.com.au, even though he said he had changed his number. “I said no — she was already wanted.”
According to Gulinello, O’Rourke had asked him about the divorce paperwork as she allegedly had plans to return to the US, despite being a wanted woman with a warrant to her name and having been cozied up in Queensland, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
“As far as I know she’s never come back to the US,” he added.
Currently, O’Rourke has 15 counts of wire fraud, per the FBI page, and is said to have used aliases to commit her crimes. According to the FBI, these include the names Vanessa Gulinello and Cecilia Vincent Gaeta Lazaro.
“The allegations in this case are nauseating. 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,” US Attorney William McSwain said in a statement at the height of her notoriety.
Despite O’Rourke being accused as a fraudster, Gulinello claims her lies began a lot earlier.
“She was really smart, good personality and stuff but over the years lots of lies came out,” he said.
Gulinello continued: “We were supposed to get married at some hall and had to put a $2,500 deposit down, then she said she found out we couldn’t get married there and told me they said they could only give $1,200 back despite being fully refundable.”
“About a month later her mom got a car. I feel like that money was given to her mom,” he added, claiming that he even took out 'student loans to help out her college' and got into debt as she 'never paid a penny back'.
He went on to say that she began to claim she had a tumor on her pituitary gland and started to mention Australia as a treatment location, even though he said there was no evidence to confirm her condition.
“I didn’t not believe her, but her not having proof made me feel [suspicious]. That’s when we had irreconcilable differences. I have paperwork for everything with cystic fibrosis so I know how that all works – it wasn’t adding up that she had nothing to show for it,” Gulinello said.
In 2017, O’Rourke was apprehended by the Queensland Police after receiving information from US authorities, leading her to plead guilty to fraud and forgery charges.
She was also detained a year later after her partner visa application was rejected, before being described as low-risk to the community and being released.
Britt Jones