'This can't be real': Cancer faker arrested, forced to repay donations
By Jo Abi|
As far as Madison Russo's friends, family and social media followers knew, the teenager was in the fight of her life.
Russo, 19, from Iowa in the US, told the world she had been diagnosed with Stage 2 pancreatic cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and had a tumor "the size of a football wrapped around her spine."
She shared numerous social media posts documenting her journey including sharing the impact the disease and its treatments were having on her day-to-day life including chronic fatigue.
The New York Post reports a GoFundMe page raised ?US $37,303 ($52,893) to help the young woman pay with expenses. Russo even gave talks at her college, St Ambrose University, chronicling her illness.
It was the woman's social media followers who were reportedly first to notice discrepancies in her claims, with many taking to TikTok to 'myth bust' many of her posts. Many of them work in medical professions including in cancer treatment.
Authorities were contacted on January 11? by anonymous witnesses alleging Russo was faking her claims including observing "terrible life-threatening inaccuracies of her medical equipment placement on her body."
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According to court documents viewed by KWQC and reported widely, investigations found Russo had stolen photos shared by real cancer patients, presenting them as her own. A subsequent search of her apartment found a brown paper bag containing medical supplies, an IV pole with a feeding pump filled with cotton swabs, a wig and pills for nausea in a relative's name, according to the court documents.
Next, investigators subpoenaed Russo's medical records. They stated she had never been diagnosed with any form of cancer or tumour.
Russo was arrested on January 23 and charged with first-degree theft which may result in up to 10 years imprisonment.
The National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation has distanced itself from Russon, confirming she has "never spoken at any of our events" despite having purported to have attending fundraising events.
The Project Purpose pancreatic cancer podcast has labelled their interview with her "unfortunate" and explained they had "no reason not to believe Maddie's story."?
GoFundMe has refunded all donations and Russo has been banned from the platform.?
Russo's story triggers memories of Australia's own cancer fraudster Belle Gibson who was found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct in 2017 and fined $410,000 after falsely claiming she was suffering from brain cancer among many other ailments.
?As of May 2021 Gibson was yet to pay the fine, her home home raided by authorities seeking restitution.
The phenomenon of people faking cancer has been labelled Munchausen by Internet. Coined by psychiatrist Dr Mark Feldman, it is understood to be a form of the mental disorder Munchhausen syndrome where people fake illness to gain attention and sympathy or is the cases of Russo and Gibson, financial benefit.
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