A devious teenager allegedly preyed on the goodwill of hundreds by faking a cancer diagnosis, swindling thousands in donations before her shocking scam was exposed.
A cunning 19-year-old Iowa woman allegedly concocted a devastating scam, preying on the compassion of others by claiming to be suffering from pancreatic cancer and a football-sized spinal tumor. Madison Marie Russo reportedly amassed nearly $40,000 in donations from hundreds of unsuspecting victims who believed they were helping her battle a life-threatening illness.
The teen’s fraudulent scheme came to a screeching halt on January 23, 2023, when medical professionals exposed her fake stage two cancer diagnosis. They pointed out glaring inconsistencies in the equipment featured in her TikTok videos, which had garnered significant financial support. Russo now faces theft by deception charges and a potential ten-year sentence in an Iowa prison for women.
Russo’s ruse unraveled when police attempted to verify her supposed medical treatments at cancer centers, only to discover that she had never been a patient. To maintain her façade, she had resorted to pilfering images from other cancer patients’ social media profiles and passing them off as her own. The young woman had claimed to be suffering from an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer and lymphoblastic leukemia.
Upon her arrest, Russo was released the same day after posting a meager $10,000 bail – a far cry from the $37,000 she had swindled from her 439 generous donors. A search of her Bettendorf apartment revealed a stash of incriminating evidence, including a paper bag full of medical supplies, an IV pole, wigs, and a bottle of prescription nausea medication prescribed to a relative.
The scam’s origin dates back to February 2022, when Russo allegedly fabricated her cancer diagnosis while attending St. Ambrose University. She recounted her emotional reaction to the fake news in an interview with The North Scott Press in October, claiming she had been given a mere 11% chance of surviving for five years.
In a heart-wrenching confession, she recalled her despair upon receiving the fictitious diagnosis, saying, “I remember hanging up the phone, and I was a mess. I was literally bawling, but somehow I ended up getting the courage to wipe away my tears and went back into class, which now when I think about it, was pretty crazy.”
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Source: AWM
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