ELDRIDGE, Iowa — A Bettendorf woman accused of scamming hundreds of donors in a fake cancer scheme has been ordered to pay back thousands in donations, according to court records filed July 12.
In late June, a sentencing date was set for October for 20-year-old Madison Russo. In the meantime, an order was filed to pay her victims restitution.
Russo entered into a plea agreement with the Iowa District Court for Scott County for one count of theft in the first degree. She has been ordered to pay GoFund Me $36,089.07 and other individual victims and foundations a total of $3,296.72.
The total for those payments equals $39,385.79.
Russo's case made national headlines following her arrest. Eldridge police began their investigation in January after anonymous witnesses told detectives about some medical discrepancies found in photos that she had posted on various social media sites, including Facebook and LinkedIn.
In February 2022, Russo claimed she was diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and was told a football-sized tumor was wrapped around her spine. She posted a video on LinkedIn, explaining her story after the diagnosis.
Russo also shared her story publicly through social media and a GoFundMe page, which was featured in the North Scott Press newspaper on Oct. 18. Russo also discussed her cancer journey as a guest speaker at St. Ambrose University, The National Pancreatic Foundation and on the Project Purple podcast.
A sentencing date of October 20 remains in the court record system.