In a world filled with filters, flexing and fake accounts, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t, leading to a seemingly unavoidable scam culture both on and offline. Those who benefit from taking advantage of others seldom think twice about how highly damaging their crimes can be to their reputation, or the lives of their victims. One example of a scam gone too is the case of Amanda Riley, who pulled off a huge lie about being terminally ill for years as shown in ABC’s new true crime docuseries. If the case sounds familiar, it was previously explored in the Scamanda podcast series from Lionsgate Sound.
According to People, before the scam, Riley was a pretty ordinary person. She was born in 1985 and raised in San Jose, California, cheerleading as a teenager before transitioning into teaching dance. She attended San Jose State University and was relatively healthy and happy. At this point in life, it’s likely no one could have guessed what dark secrets she would eventually have. But just years later Riley spun a web of lies so big that it ruined her life and even became a docuseries. Here is what we know about what happened to Amanda Riley, or rather, what she did to herself.
ABC Explores ‘Scamanda’ in New Docuseries
Amanda Riley was a truly unique scammer. In her late teenage years, she worked for Cory and Aletta Riley, teaching their daughter dance. Cory was 29 years old and his daughter with Aletta was, at the time, battling cancer. Eventually, Cory and Aletta divorced and there was a nasty custody battle. This is where it gets interesting. Amanda got married to Cory Riley, so she was involved in the custody battle for her “bonus daughter.” Corey even filed allegedly false claims about Aletta in an attempt to gain full custody of their immunocompromised daughter.
Presumably, her exposure to Corey and Aletta’s child gave Amanda Riley the information she needed to benefit from a big lie. In 2012, the former cheerleader started a blog called “Lymphoma Can Suck It.” It was a space for Riley to vent about her journey battling cancer, which she claimed to be diagnosed with it when she gave birth for the first time. The blogger carried on as if she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is a type of blood cancer, going to great lengths to keep up the facade.
Amanda posted on her blog and social media to convince others that she was terminally ill. At one point, she even invited community members to donate to her medical care via fundraisers. Churches, friends, coworkers and more financially contributed to her cause. Riley also received other types of support like free trips, meals, signed collector’s items and other things from those expressing sympathy for her alleged battle. Because the West Coast native wasn’t actually diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, she lied and got money from kindhearted people on false pretenses. These donations intended to help with her supposed health issues and extensive medical bills just went to pay for her lifestyle with her husband Corey.
Where Is Amanda Riley Now?
In total, the mother of two faked having cancer for seven years. She was only caught in her lies due to an anonymous tip to an investigative producer, Nancy Moscatiello who investigated Amanda Riley for five years, according to a press release. All information was handed into a financial crimes unit in San Jose in 2015. After receiving over $105,513.43 in online donations (and more from other methods), her information was flagged to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2016.
Riley was eventually charged with wire fraud in July 2020. The embattled blogger was issued a five-year prison sentence which began in September 2022 at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. This is not a regular prison, since it typically houses inmates with mental illnesses or other special needs. On top of that, Riley was sentenced to three years of supervised probation. To attempt to do right by those who were scammed, she will also need to pay restitution plus interest to 349 of the people who donated to her cause.
