An Iowa woman, #Madison Russo who falsely claimed to have cancer and shared her fabricated "battle" on various social media platforms, has been spared from a prison sentence. A judge has sentenced her to probation and imposed a 10-year suspended sentence.

Russo, aged 20, made unfounded assertions about suffering from pancreatic cancer, leukemia, and a football-sized tumor wrapped around her spine on platforms such as #TikTok #GoFundMe #Facebook, and LinkedIn. Shockingly, her deceitful claims prompted more than 400 people to send her donations.

As part of her sentence, Russo was ordered to pay $39,000 in restitution and a fine of $1,370. If she successfully maintains a clean record during 3 years of probation, she will remain free.

Is this part of a growing trend?