5 key details about Amanda Riley's cancer scam
Amanda Riley is a woman from San Jose who was convicted of scamming more than $100,000 in funding from a blog where she faked being diagnosed with cancer. It was in 2012 when Amanda started a vlog named Lymphoma Can Suck It, where she documented her journey of battling with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
However, Amanda was never diagnosed with cancer and went on to use her funding to lead a lavish lifestyle. It was in June 2015 when journalist Nancy Moscatiello started investigating the authenticity of her stories. This moment is when she encountered some shocking revelations.
ABC's new docuseries, titled Scamanda, documents the complete story behind Amanda Riley's cancer scam. The docuseries is set to make its release on January 30, 2025, at 9 pm EST. Scamanda will be available for streaming on January 31, 2025, on Hulu.
5 crucial details about Amanda Riley's cancer scam
1) Amanda Riley started taking donations through her blog
As per a People article published on October 18, 2024, Amanda was the second wife of Cory Riley, who went on to take custody of his daughter from a previous marriage, Jessa. It was in 2012 when Amanda Riley started a blog in the name of Lymphoma Can Suck It, where she began writing fake articles to be diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
As per a Newsweek article published on January 29, 2025, her blog quickly rose in popularity, and in September 2013, she added a donation link to her blog page. Soon, Amanda's friends, relatives, colleagues, the church congregation, and even strangers started making donations. As per the People article, she went on to scam $105,513.43 from 349 people over eight years.
2) Amanda Riley started posting fabricated pictures on her social media
As per the Newsweek article, Amanda started posting her images while undergoing cancer treatment on her social media accounts. She would frequently visit hospital emergency rooms, claiming to be extremely ill. Upon being admitted to the ward, she would take images and post them on her social media.
Most of her medical supplies, including syringes and oxygen masks, were available for purchase in medical shops. However, the cancer treatment methods she mentioned in her blogs had loopholes, which led to her truth being revealed.
3) Amanda Riley's cancer scheme was revealed due to an anonymous tip
As per the People article, it was in June 2015 when journalist and TV producer Nancy Moscatiello received an anonymous tip claiming that Amanda was scamming their church money by faking her cancer. Moscatiello went on rigorous research, scanning Amanda's blogs and trying to verify the authenticity behind her claims.
Moscatiello went on to produce the Scammanda podcast in 2023. She mentioned that Amanda's narrative of her cancer story was very inconsistent. Additionally, the method of cancer treatment mentioned by Amanda required precise medical assistance and couldn't be administered at home.
In an article in The Sun, published on August 12, 2023, Nancy Moscatiello said,
"My sister had stage 4 lung cancer years before and a friend of mine helped her by researching clinical trials. She looked at the blog and pointed me to inconsistencies, like treatments that were not available at home or could only be administered by a medically trained person — and medicines that could only be kept in a laboratory fridge."
4) Amanda Riley was found guilty of wire fraud
As per People, after Moscatiello discovered Amanda Riley's cancer scam in September 2025, she forwarded the information to Detective Jose Martinez from the financial crime unit of the San Jose, California, police department.
It was in February 2016 that Martinez passed the information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). When Amanda came to know about Moscatiello's investigations, she filed a civil harassment case against her and filed for a restraining order.
Amanda came up with a story that, due to the controversy around her cancer journey, she and her husband Cory were fired from their jobs and harassed by their friends and family. It was in January 2018, when a jury was held, that Amanda's charges were dismissed by the judge.
Moscatiello provided concrete evidence, revealing the emails and texts Amanda forwarded for her poor attendance at her job. As per People, it was in July 2020 when IRS special investigator Arlette Lyons-Lee charged Amanda Riley with wire fraud.
5) Amanda Riley was sentenced to five years imprisonment
As per a TV Insider article published on January 27, 2025, Amanda pleaded not guilty to the charges imposed on her; however, in October 2021, she switched her plea. Amanda's legal attorneys pleaded to decrease her sentence to six months, which was denied. Judge Beth Labson Freeman, from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, said,
"It breaks my heart to think that your boys will not have their mother with them, but it was your responsibility before you committed these frauds to think about your parental obligations. It is not the court's job to clean that up for you."
It was in May 2022 when Amanda Riley was sentenced to five years imprisonment. As per the Newsweek article, she was sentenced to imprisonment at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Forth Worth, Texas. On December 31, 2024, Nancy Moscatiello revealed Amanda's current whereabouts on Instagram. The post said,
"Amanda was released from federal prison earlier than expected... Amanda still has time to serve according to BOP information, so will she be under home confinement or housed elsewhere to serve out her time?"
Amanda Riley is expected to get her bail in 2026. Her husband, Cory Riley, currently resides in their residence in Austin, Texas, with their two sons.
To know more details about Amanda Riley's cancer scams, watch ABC's docuseries Scamanda on January 30, 2025, at 9 pm EST.
