Eldridge, Iowa - A 20-year-old woman now faces up to 10 years in jail for her elaborate cancer con. She used TikTok to convince unsuspecting donors that she needed help with her medical bills.

Madison Russo appeared in court on Wednesday and pled guilty to a felony charge of first-degree theft. The 20-year-old now faces up to 10 years in prison, per the New York Post.

Over 400 unsuspecting people sent money to Madison, who claimed to have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2022.

Madison documented her "cancer battle" on TikTok and set up a GoFundMe page to share updates. The young woman said she needed help paying for medical bills, gas, and meals. Her plight touched 439 well-wishers, including cancer organizations and schools, who sought to help the young woman in her fight by donating.

The then 19-year-old pocketed $37,000. Madison's scam thrived until social media users noticed some medical oddities.

Madison claimed that she had Stage 2 pancreatic cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and a tumor the size of a football wrapped around her spine. She said had an 11% survival rate over the next five years.

Per her social media updates, she'd suffered through 15 rounds of chemotherapy and 90 radiation treatments between February and October 2022. Madison claimed to be maintaining a stellar 4.0 GPA at college, working a part-time job and playing golf while undergoing treatment.

Her con fell apart when social media users noticed inconsistencies in Madison's stories and pointed out incorrectly attached medical equipment. Social media users who said they were medics contacted the authorities. Court documents alleged that the witnesses claimed to have observed "terrible life-threatening inaccuracies of her medical equipment placement on her body."

These claims lead to an investigation, revealing that Madison had never had any sort of cancer diagnosis on record. Investigators also found that the student had a stash of medical equipment at her home and she stole and edited pictures of real cancer patients to bolster her claims.

After the scam was discovered, Madison's GoFundMe page was taken down. Luckily, the unsuspecting donors were reimbursed.