Where is Amanda Riley now? All about the subject of Hulu's Scamanda
Amanda Riley is the creator of the now-defunct Lymphoma Can Suck It, who pretended to be diagnosed with stage 3 blood cancer. In her blog, she wrote articles, documenting her cancer journey, shared them on social media, and managed, and raised over $ 100,000 in donations. Amanda Riley used this money to fund her lifestyle while earning people's sympathy.
She went on scamming people for more than seven years, until a journalist named Nancy Moscatiello, started investigating the authenticity of her stories. She was found guilty of wire fraud, and in May 2022, was sentenced to five years in prison. A Newsweek article, published on January 29, 2025, revealed that Amanda, who was expected to be serving her sentence at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Forth Worth, Texas, was released, as reported on an Instagram account purpoted to be Nancy Moscatiello's.
The complete story behind Amanda's web of lies is documented in ABC's docuseries titled Scamanda. The docuseries is set to make its release on January 30, 2025, at 9 pm EST. Scamanda will be released on Hulu on January 31, 2025.
What happened to Amanda Riley?
Born on June 24, 1985, Amanda Riley was raised as Amanda Maneri in the neighborhood of San Jose, Calif, California. As per a People Magazine article, published on October 18, 2024, Amanda met her husband Cory Riley, as a 17-year-old after she was appointed as the dance teacher for Cory's kid, Jessa.
Amanda married Cory, after his divorce from Aletta, and they took custody of Jessa, against her will. It was in 2012 when Amanda Riley started a blog named Lymphoma Can Suck It, where she introduced herself to have been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. In her blog, Amanda began documenting her journey as a terminal cancer patient.
However, during this time, Amanda gave birth to two sons with Cory, despite her claims to be undergoing chemotherapy. As per a Newsweek article, published on January 29, 2025, Amanda soon opened social media accounts, where she posted images of her hospital visits, provided forged medical records, and even went to the extent of shaving her head, to mimic the effects of chemotherapy medication.
It was in September 2013, when Amanda added a donation link to her donation page. She soon began to receive funding from her readers, friends, colleagues, and even her church congregation, to support her medical expenses. As per the People Magazine article, for almost almost eight years, Amanda received a sum of over $ 100,000.
The donations also included travel vouchers, free meals, gift cards, and even voluntary babysitting. She never had cancer and used all the funding to fuel her lavish lifestyle, which included going on vacations, and expensive shopping. Amanda had a teaching job but was often inconsistent in her attendance, which she compensated with her fake medical treatment.
Who caught Amanda Riley's cancer scam?
As per a TV Inisder article, published on January 27, 2025, journalist and TV producer, Nancy Moscatiello, received an anonymous tip in June 2015, that Amanda was scamming their church by pretending to have cancer. Moscatiello was provided with a link to her blog page, Lymphoma Can Suck It, where she began to scan through the articles.
Moscatiello soon discovered inconsistencies in Amanda's stories. The medical techniques she mentioned, were not available at home, and could only be operated through a trained medical practitioner. In 2023, Moscatiello went on to produce the Scamanda podcast. There she reflected that Amanda would often pretendto be ill to get admission into hospital emergency rooms, to take pictures.
Additionally, most of the supplies she used including syringes and oxygen tanks, could be purchased in medical stores. As per the People Magazine article, after collecting evidence against her, Moscatiello reported her findings to Detective Jose Martinez, at the San Jose, California Police Department in September 2015.
In February 2016, Martinez went on to present the case to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). By September 2016, Amanda's residence underwent a raid. When Amanda Riley got to know about Moscatiello's investigations, she complained against her on civil defamation and filed a restraining order on her.
In January 2018, the jury ruled out Amanda's request for a restraining order, when Moscatiello's legal advisers provided counter evidence. Moscatiello and Martinez, along with the IRS continued on with the investigation. As per the People Magazine article, IRS special investigator Arlette Lyons-Lee, officially charged Amanda Riley with wire fraud, in July 2020.
Where is Amanda Riley now?
Amanda Riley pleaded not guilty to the charges, however in October 2021, she changed her decision. Her attorneys made a plea to the jury, to reduce her sentence to six months, considering the solicitor guidelines recommending for 18 months. As per the People Magazine article, at her hearing in May 2022, Amanda publicly apologized.
She was found guilty of scamming a sum of $105,513.43 from 349 people and organizations. Moscatiello revealed on Reddit, that she received a sum of another $80,000 from people transacted in cash.
As per the Newsweek article, Amanda Riley was sentenced for imprisonement at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Forth Worth, Texas. On December 31, 2024, Nancy Moscatiello revealed in an Instagram post,
"Amanda was released from federal prison earlier than expected," the post reads. "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 was expected to be released in 2026, as shared by Moscatiello's Instagram update. Meanwhile her husband Cory Riley, currently stays in Austin, Texas raising their two sons.
To know more about the story of Amanda Riley, watch ABC's docuseries Scamanda on January 30, 2025, at 9 pm EST.
