- For seven years, blogger Amanda C. Riley told people she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but she was lying.
- The mom of two swindled over $100,000 from 349 donors.
- A 2023 podcast and a new docuseries explore “Scamanda” and the fallout of Riley’s fake cancer scheme.
In 2012, California-based Christian blogger and mother of two Amanda Christine Riley started “Lymphoma Can Suck It,” a since-archived blog documenting her journey after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in her late 20s. She used her blog and social media to publicize her journey with the aggressive form of cancer, winning over sympathy from friends, strangers, and even celebrities who gave her money for her medical treatments.
The only problem? Riley didn’t have cancer.
Riley, now 39, never had any cancer treatments because she never had the disease. And according to a criminal complaint filed by now-retired Internal Revenue Service (IRS) special agent Arlette Lee in July 2020, she had used the ruse of the illness to bilk people out of over a total of $100,000.
Riley was the subject of Charlie Webster’s hit 2023 podcast “Scamanda,” which exposed the blogger’s web of lies with the help of Riley’s victims, journalists, and law enforcement who worked the case. Now, a new four-part ABC news docuseries of the same name premiering on January 30 delves further into how Riley pulled off her scheme and what ultimately gave her away.
According to Lee’s complaint, the former teacher and principal convinced friends, coworkers, a megachurch, and complete strangers (including singer LeAnn Rimes) to donate over $100,000 to her and her family to help cover the cost of her non-existent cancer treatments and travel for experiences she said she wanted to have before she died.
Riley shared on her blog multiple times that she was near death. But each time, she would experience a “terminal miracle” that would inexplicably put her cancer into remission, taking her followers on an emotionally manipulative ride. At one point, Riley even claimed that her pregnancy had “reversed the cancer.” (It would always eventually return.)
Lionsgate
According to the Department of Justice, Riley collected at least 349 donations over the eight years she perpetrated the fraud. They added up to more than $105,000.
So where is Riley today? The end of her story isn’t a miracle, but the consequences she faced are now a part of legal history.
Amanda C. Riley faced repercussions for her fraud — and made legal history
Lionsgate
The case wouldn’t have happened without the work of investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello, who began an initial investigation into Riley after receiving an anonymous tip via email that she should look into the blogger in the summer of 2015.
Riley quickly went on the offensive, and attempted to sue Moscatiello for civil harassment (the judge threw out the suit).
Moscatiello’s own sister had died of cancer, and she dug in, calling the hospitals and clinics Riley claimed to have been treated at, and closely examining the photos she posted on her blog. She took her findings to Jose Martinez, a now-retired San Jose-based financial crimes detective. Martinez contacted a facility where Riley claimed to be treated; an employee confirmed to him that Riley was not and had never been a patient there.
Martinez, realizing his scope was limited to San Jose, eventually passed the case on to the IRS, which had federal jurisdiction. IRS special agent Lee took the case over the line, subpoenaing every facility that Riley mentioned in her blog posts to establish that Riley didn’t have cancer.
Even as she was being actively investigated — investigators raided her house in 2016 — Riley continued blogging and maintaining her claim she was being treated for cancer. She also took a job as a principal at Pacific Point, a Christian elementary school, and worked there for about three years, resigning just before federal authorities charged her with wire fraud.
Federal charges were eventually brought against Riley in July 2020, related to financial crimes associated with “a scheme to solicit donations from individuals to help her pay for cancer treatments she never needed nor received,” the DOJ said.
During the trial, it was revealed just how far Riley went to perpetrate the fraud, including shaving her head to appear as though she was receiving chemotherapy, falsifying medical records, forging physicians’ documents, and creating a library of photos depicting her fake cancer journey.
Lionsgate
Riley pleaded guilty to wire fraud in October 2021, admitting in the written plea agreement that she knew she did not have Hodgkin’s lymphoma and had never been diagnosed or treated with any type of cancer, and that she’d knowingly deceived people to convince them to give her money.
She was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $105,513 and sentenced to 60 months in prison in May 2022.
The case made IRS history for being the first financial conviction of someone who faked cancer for fundraising purposes, according to the “Scamanda” podcast.
Riley is incarcerated at FMC Carswell, a federal prison in Ft. Worth, Texas, that houses prisoners at all security levels and specializes in prisoners with mental and physical health needs.
In 2024, Riley’s attorney filed a motion for compassionate release, asking for a reduced sentence because of new medical issues Riley claimed to have. The judge denied the motion after the government opposed it, “pointing to evidence that Defendant is once again feigning illness.”
Her scheduled release date is October 15, 2026, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
“Scamanda” premieres January 30 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, airing weekly. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
