UPDATE: Jan. 24, 2023, 9:25 p.m. – GoFundMe has released a statement in response to a woman who faces charges after she claimed to have cancer.
“GoFundMe has a zero tolerance policy for misuse of our platform and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing. All donors have been refunded and we have removed this fundraiser,” the statement says. “The organizer has also been banned from using the platform for any future fundraisers. GoFundMe’s Giving Guarantee offers a full refund in the rare case when something isn’t right; this is the first and only donor protection guarantee in the fundraising industry.”
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money online.
EARLIER UPDATE: Jan. 24, 2023, 11:05 a.m. — Russo is set for arraignment on Feb. 23, 2023, at 11 a.m. This is still an ongoing investigation, and police are unable to provide any further
information at this time.
EARLIER: A 19-year-old woman who claimed to have cancer was arrested and charged with theft by means of deception on Monday.
Madison Russo is suspected of stealing more than $37,000 from more than 439 donors with false claims she suffered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, stage 2 pancreatic cancer and “a tumor the size of a football” that wrapped around her spine, Eldridge Police said in a news release.
Russo shared her story on social media, on GoFundMe and in the North Scott Press. She also spoke at St. Ambrose University, The...
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