Iowa Woman Faked Having Cancer

An Iowa woman who falsely claimed to have cancer and documented her “battle” on social media will stay out of prison after a judge gave her probation and a suspended sentence. 20 year old Madison Russo of Bettendorf never had pancreatic cancer, leukemia nor  football-sized tumor wrapped around her spine she  claimed in postings on TikTok, GoFundMe, Facebook and LinkedIn. But, over 400 people sent her donations. As part of the 10-year suspended sentence handed down Friday, she was ordered to pay $39,000 in restitution and a $1,370 fine.  The Bettendorf woman pleaded guilty in June to first-degree theft.  Her scam unraveled when medical professionals spotted discrepancies in her story online. Police subpoenaed her medical records and found she had never been diagnosed with cancer at any medical facility in the area. She was arrested in January.