An American college student collected $37,000 in donations by faking illnesses. Now “Maddie” is in custody.
Her terrible fate hit the social media world. Madison “Maddie” Russo of Eldridge, Iowa, documented on TikTok last year how she battled three different cancers for her life. She received over $37,000 in donations from her kind fans. But now it came true: the student “Maddie” only pretended to be sick.
The scam came to light when an anonymous employee of a cancer hospital reported it to the police. She explained to officers that she came across Russo’s TikTok videos. According to her expertise, “the medical devices were so misused that the treatment would be life-threatening for the patient.”
An examination showed that the student, who was reportedly suffering from cancer, was in perfect health. She was arrested for fraud.
Source: Krone
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