Madison ‘Maddie’ Russo, Bettendorf, Iowa woman and TikToker pleads guilty to stealing more than $37,000 from hundreds of donors in illicit fake cancer ruse.
A 20-year-old Iowa woman who lied online about battling pancreatic cancer and bilking hundreds of donors out of $37,000 has confessed to the illicit scheme.
Madison ‘Maddie’ Russo, from Bettendorf, appeared before a judge Wednesday and pleaded guilty to first-degree theft, a felony, reported WQUAD.
Russo potentially faces 10 years in prison during sentencing (at a later date).
Elaborate concoction and deliberate manipulation
Russo had initially pleaded not guilty to the theft charge stemming from her elaborate con, as part of which she pocketed donations from more than 439 unsuspecting well-wishers, including cancer organizations and school districts.
The then-19-year-old Iowa woman and popular social media influencer was arrested in late January after police said she faked having Stage 2 pancreatic cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ‘and a tumor the size of a football that wrapped around her spine.’
The swindler documented her made-up cancer battle in elaborate displays on her TikTok page and in GoFundMe updates.
The description of her now-defunct online campaign stated that her cancer diagnosis ‘has been very hard on Maddie’s family. Just like with any cancer diagnosis, the cost of medical bills, gas, meals, and expense can be a burden, and that is something this family should not have to worry about.’
‘If you are able to, donations would be greatly appreciated to help cover medical expenses and to allow Maddie to focus on one thing only, which is to show that she is stronger than cancer and will beat this. Please donate/share if you can,’ the fundraiser stated.
Russo also gave talks about her supposed health struggles at St. Ambrose University, where she had been a student, along on the podcast “Project Purple.”
In an interview with the North Scott Press last year, Russo said she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on Feb. 10, 2022, and with leukemia a few months later.
‘I remember hanging up the phone, and I was a mess,’ she told the Iowa news outlet.
Foiled when things began to fail to add up and questions were asked
Russo claimed in the interview that between February and October of last year, she underwent 15 rounds of chemotherapy and 90 rounds of radiation — all the while maintaining a 4.0 GPA, holding down a part-time job, and golfing in her spare time (who knew!!).
She said doctors gave her an 11% survival rate for five years, before discovering the huge mass on her spine.
The woman’s lies finally caught up with her in mid-January, when witnesses claiming to be medics contacted the police, saying they noticed ‘many medical discrepancies’ in Russo’s social media posts talking about her cancer journey.
Russo’s TikTok followers also observed that some of her medical equipment and its placement seen in her videos did not look right.
One TikTok user posted a photo of Russo smiling while hooked up to a gastrostomy tube and pointed out that it was too far up her nose and a ‘chest port’ appeared to have been wrongly applied.
In the course of a police investigation, detectives learned that Russo had stolen photos shared online by real cancer patients and passed them off as her own to bolster her bogus claims.
A search of Russo’s home in Bettendorf turned up a trove of evidence, including an IV pole with a feeding pump filled with cotton swabs, a wig, and anti-nausea medication prescribed in a relative’s name, according to the court filings.
Russo’s medical records obtained by the police revealed that she had never been diagnosed with any form of cancer or tumor at any medical facility in the area where she has been a patient.
Upon being exposed, GoFundMe banned Russo from the platform and reimbursed everyone who had donated to her fraudulent campaign.
