TikToker Fakes Cancer Diagnosis, Must Pay $39k In Restitution

A social media influencerfaked her cancer diagnosis and now has to pay $39,000 in restitution to avoid jail time.

Madison Russo, a TikToker, documented her "cancer" treatment on social media, claiming she had a 'football-sized' tumor wrapped around her spine. She also lied about having leukemia and pancreatic cancer. In turn, she scammed followers of nearly $40,000 on a GoFundMe page.

Now, the 20-year-old has to pay nearly $40,000 in restitution in order to avoid going to jail.

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Madison Russo, 20, appeared in court where she received a 10-year suspended sentence and was ordered to pay $39,000 in restitution in addition to a $1,370 fine. It's estimated that over 400 people sent her donations as she received nearly $40,000 on her GoFundMe page.

"A lot of people have made speculation as to why I did this, and how somebody who looked like they had everything together could have such a mess. I didn’t do this for money or greed. I didn’t do this for attention. I did this as an attempt to get my family back together," Russo told the court, per reports.

The social media influencer first pleaded guilty in June to first-degree theft in a deal with prosecutors.

Victims of the scam are outraged at prosecutors for the way they handled the case as Russo "preyed" on the emotions of many individuals.

Rhonda Miles, who is the founder of the Nikki Mitchell Foundation and contributed to Russo's donation page, spoke out about the "betrayal" of the 20-year-old.

“It was devastating to sit there and watch the Scott County prosecuting attorney act like a defending attorney, so that was tough,” she said in court, according to WQAD. “And I think she’ll have a lot of questions to answer from the locals on that at some point. Why were you defending this girl when you were supposed to be prosecuting?” she asked.

Miles then went on to express, "Madison manipulated, lied and let these patients willingly pull the band-aid off their wounds one more time in the name of supporting a fellow patient. What Madison Russo did was devastating in so many ways," she said adding, "I'm also including anyone who helped her or even knew what she was doing and didn't stop it. We've wasted precious time and resources on this scam when we could have been with someone in real need."

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The 20-year-old TikToker documented her fake medical journey on social media since February 2022, but once police obtained medical records from the hospitals where she was a patient at, she was exposed as she never received any cancer treatments.

Police officers also found out that Russo was stealing photos from actual cancer patients on social media to try and make her story more believable. She shared her "cancer" journey on LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok.

The social media influencer also shared her journey to newspapers and on podcasts. Russo even attended St. Ambrose University to deliver a "motivational" speech regarding what she has "been through".

Russo posted bail on the day she was arrested for $10,000.

Related: Fans Bash ‘Disgusting’ Poker Player For Lying About Cancer Diagnosis

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Police officers found out that the 20-year-old accepted money from 439 donors, including from cancer foundations and school districts after they obtained a search warrant for Russo's apartment. That was in addition to the GoFundMe account, which showed another $37,303 was raised by January before her arrest. It appears the page has been taken down now.

While searching Russo's apartment, police officers also found a brown paper bag which contained medical supplies, as well as an IV pole, wigs, hospital gowns, and a script for nausea medication, which was prescribed to a family member.

GoFundMe has refunded the money that was donated to Russo.