Madison Russo, 19, allegedly faked having cancer for months. Police claim she posted frequently to social media about her fake illness before getting caught.
ELDRIDGE, Iowa — A 19-year-old Bettendorf woman is in custody after an investigation revealed she had been faking cancer to solicit thousands of dollars in donations.
On Wednesday, Jan. 11 around 6 p.m., the Eldridge Police Department was made aware of 19-year-old Madison Russo, who was suspected of stealing over $37,303 from over 439 donors by using false claims that she, "suffered from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Stage 2 Pancreatic Cancer and a tumor, the size of a football, that wrapped around her spine."
Russo shared her story publicly through social media and a GoFundMe page, which was featured in the North Scott Press newspaper on Oct. 18. Russo also discussed her cancer journey as a guest speaker at St. Ambrose University, The National Pancreatic Foundation and on the Project Purple podcast.
Anonymous witnesses met with the investigating officer on Jan. 11 to discuss the medical discrepancies found in photos Russo posted to her social media sites.
Investigators learned that via her GoFundMe, Russo accepted private donations from other businesses, nonprofit organizations, school districts and Quad Citizens.
The GoFundMe page was still up as of Monday afternoon, with donations rolling in as recently as Saturday. The description of the fundraiser says:
"On February 10th, 2022 Maddie Russo found out she has...
The Green Party leader wasn't challenged on the inaccurate comment during an appearance on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday. Zack Polanski has inaccurately defended his response to the Golders Green attack...