Just over a year ago, Madison “Maddie” R. (19) shared the sad diagnosis of pancreatic cancer with her TikTok fan base. A tumor the size of a football had spread to her spine. Later, Maddie followed up again: She was also diagnosed with leukemia.
In interviews, the 19-year-old said that within a few months she had been irradiated 90 times and had to undergo chemotherapy 15 times. Maddie’s story of woe generated a great deal of sympathy. A total of 34,000 euros was generated through their self-created “GoFundMe” page.
But at the end of January, Maddie was arrested, according to the New York Post, she is said to have lied about everything. Now the young woman from the US state of Iowa faces up to ten years in prison. On March 2nd she is to be tried. Until then, Maddie is free after paying bail of 9,200 euros. The donation platform “GoFundMe” has meanwhile transferred the money back to the affected donors.
Maddie was caught because anonymous witnesses found “many inconsistencies” in her social media posts. Maddie is said to have incorrectly attached tubes and needles to her body for her photos. Had she been a “real” cancer patient, these would have been “life-threatening inaccuracies,” according to the New York Post. According to the police, the American is also said to have given out photos of real cancer patients as hers.
When looking for an apartment, the police officers secured an IV stand with a pump, a wig and numerous pills. They also opened Maddie’s medical file – there was nothing to read about pancreatic cancer or leukemia.
The original of this article “19-year-old TikTokerin faked cancer – and collected donations” comes from Bunte.de.
