TikToker Madison Russo, 19, was discovered after followers noted a piece of medical equipment she claimed to be using to battle cancer was placed incorrectly. The Iowa resident was arrested on January 23 on a first-degree theft charge. According to the Eldridge Police Department said she faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly defrauding her supporters.
Russo claimed to have been battling pancreatic cancer and struggling with a tumour “the size of a football that wrapped around her spine”
But on January 11, anonymous witnesses claiming to be medical professionals contacted the police after spotting “many medical discrepancies” in Russo’s tale about her purported battle with cancer.
Court documents showed the witnesses had observed “terrible life-threatening inaccuracies of her medical equipment placement on her body.”
Russo’s TikTok followers also pointed out in the comment section of her video that the placement of some of her medical equipment did not look correct.
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Police said the TikToker pretended to have Stage 2 pancreatic cancer as she used the social media platform to rake up financial support from her followers.
Russo is also accused of setting up a GoFundMe page which raised $37,303 from over 430 unsuspecting donors, authorities said.
Officials said Russo agreed to deliver talks about her condition at the university she attended, St Ambrose University.
They added she also allegedly stole images of real cancer patients to further support her claims.
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“I was terrified, and I definitely still am. I was in shock. I didn’t think it could be true. I’m so young, and I wondered how this could happen. I went through all the emotions, and I was pretty numb.”
She added: “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.”
Russo said doctors had given her an 11 percent chance of survival and claimed to have undergone 15 rounds of chemotherapy since she was first diagnosed.
After the files were charged, GoFundMe informed Russo’s funders would receive their money back within seven days.
Russo is due for arraignment on March 2.
