Here’s Where Amanda Riley from Scamanda Is Now After Reports She’s Still Faking Illnesses
The scammer documentary seems to be a thing these days, perhaps because there are enough scammers for multiple documentaries. Ironically, Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar, which tells the story of Belle Gibson, and ABC’s Scamanda, which tells the story of Amanda Riley are about two very similar stories—cancer scammers.
Scamanda, which is streaming on Hulu, is based on the podcast of the same name and goes in-depth into the story of California native Amanda Riley, a young wife, and mother who became famous for blogging about her struggles with Stage 3 blood cancer. Riley went on to receive $100,000 in donations before her claims came under suspicion.
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An old friend of Riley’s, Lisa Berry, ended up being the reason she was caught. Berry reached out to investigative podcast producer Nancy Moscatiello about the alleged scam, with police getting involved soon after, as well as the IRS. However, even after all of this, Riley tried to keep up the ruse on social media.
“She used her presence on these sites to ‘document’ her nonexistent medical condition, and to aggressively solicit donations, supposedly to cover her medical expenses,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office told PEOPLE. “In truth, [Amanda] had no medical expenses. The donations she received were deposited into her personal bank accounts and used to pay her living expenses.”
What happened to Amanda Riley after her scam was discovered? Where is she now?
Where’s Amanda Riley now from Scamanda?
After Riley’s scam was discovered, consequences followed. In July 2020 she was charged with wire fraud by the IRS “in connection with a scheme to solicit donations from individuals to help pay for cancer treatments she never needed nor received.” In 2021, Riley pled guilty to the charges and confessed to her scam. “In truth, as I knew, I did not have Hodgkin’s lymphoma and have never been diagnosed or treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma or any other type of cancer,” she said in her plea agreement.
Prosecutors recommended an 18-month sentence, but Riley was instead sentenced to 60 months in prison, with the judge saying she found “the public to be at a significant risk” from Riley. “I do believe that this will happen again,” she explained. Riley was also ordered to pay restitution for the sum of $105,513 and sentenced to three years of supervision following her release.
Amanda Riley has been in prison serving her sentence at Federal Medical Center Carswell in Ft. Worth, Texas since 2022. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last year that Riley was still faking illnesses even while in prison, with records indicating she was taken to the emergency room 24 times in the first 18 months of her sentence. She was also reportedly caught trying to tamper with test results. Riley still has 48 months of her sentence to go.
Riley’s husband, Cory, was not charged with any crimes and filed for divorce from her in 2024. However, not everyone believes in his innocence, as his former stepdaughter Jaymie said during the docuseries. “I think Amanda and Cory just wanted things to go their way and they would do whatever they felt they needed to do, wanted to do, to get their way.”
