A woman who faked cancer scamming donors out of $37,000 has admitted the scam ‘snowballed’ out of control.
Madison Russo, 20, from Iowa, made a fraudulent GoFundMe page where she claimed that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
In court, Russo claimed that she had faked her diagnosis to get her family back together, but the scheme got out of control.
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Prior to her sentencing, she said: “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.”
Explaining the situation 'snowballed quickly and hard', Russo also expressed regret that she didn't seek out help 'before making this immature decision'.
She said: "I was 18 years old and I was a freshman in college when it took place. I'm young and I don't know it all. I was not being rational."
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Russo documented her 'struggle' with the disease on her social media platforms, but she never had a tumor as she claimed on TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, and GoFundMe.
Russo used her fake diagnosis to solicit 'donations' from people online, raising over $37,000, ostensibly to pay for her treatment, before being arrested in January.
Russo was caught after medical professionals spotted 'life-threatening inaccuracies' in the way that medical equipment was being used in her photographs on 11 January. Police then subpoenaed her medical records and discovered that she had never received a cancer diagnosis.
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The 20-year-old was handed a 10 year jail sentence suspended for three years after pleading guilty to theft in the first-degree.
This means that she would walk out of court that day. However, if she were to commit any further offences during the probation period, then the ten year sentence would be activated and added to whatever other punishment she was given.
Russo was also ordered to pay restitution of $39,000, and given a $1,370 fine as well as 100 hours of community service.
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Judge John Telleen said: “Through this scheme, you deceived your friends, your family, your community, other cancer victims, charities and strangers who were motivated by your supposedly tragic story to donate to help support you."
Russo has publicly apologized for the scam, saying: “I fully acknowledge what I did was wrong. And I’m incredibly sorry.
“If there was anything I could do to take it back I would. The reality is I can’t.”
Russo's attorneys also requested that the conviction be wiped from her record if she successfully completes the probation period, but Judge Teller denied the request.
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He said that people should know that she had been involved in a 'criminal scheme', saying: "Serious crimes must have serious consequences."
Kit Roberts