For years, Amanda Riley convinced friends, loved ones and even complete strangers that she was battling terminal cancer. Through emotional blog posts, social media updates and fundraising campaigns, the California native built a community of supporters who followed every twist and turn of her supposed fight against Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Many donated money. Others offered gifts, meals, prayers and practical support. Some even considered her as an inspiration. But there was one devastating problem: Amanda was never ill.
Her extraordinary deception is now being revisited in BBC Two's Scamanda, a four-part documentary series based on the hit podcast that exposed one of the most shocking fraud cases in recent history.
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At the heart of the story is a woman who managed to maintain an elaborate hoax for years while convincing hundreds of people that she was fighting for her life.
Born Amanda Maneri in California in 1985, Amanda first began publicly documenting her alleged cancer journey in 2012, through a blog called Lymphoma Can Suck It. In it, she claimed she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma after the birth of her first son and detailed what she described as a gruelling cycle of chemotherapy, relapses and periods of remission.
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The blog quickly gained attention. Readers followed Amanda's updates as she described hospital visits, treatments and setbacks. Her story resonated with people who had experienced cancer themselves, while others were drawn to what appeared to be an uplifting example of resilience in the face of adversity.
As her online footprint grew, so did the support. Fundraisers were organised on her behalf. Donations poured in. Her church community rallied around her, while local businesses and supporters provided gifts and financial aid.
Amanda even received special experiences and celebrity-backed gestures as her story spread further. Through it all, she carefully crafter the image of a woman fighting terminal illness.
According to investigators, Amanda shaved her head to mimic the effects of chemotherapy, fabricated medical documents and forged doctors' letters to support her claims. She attended cancer support groups and allegedly used information gathered from genuine patients to make her own story appear more convincing.
Investigators later discovered that Amanda had gone to extraordinary lengths to create evidence of treatments and hospital stays. Nancy Moscatiello, the investigative producer of the podcast Scamanda, uncovered allegations that she sometimes presented herself at emergency departments with complaints that resulted in routine treatment, allowing her to photograph IV drips and medical equipment, which she could then use as proof of her supposed illness.
While supporters believed they were helping a woman fight cancer, Amanda was receiving substantial financial assistance. Authorities later determined she fraudulently obtained more than $105k from over 300 donors. Support came in many forms, including cash donations, gift cards, meals and fundraising events in her name. But the fraud also had consequences beyond fundraising.
Amanda and her husband Cory Riley reportedly cited her alleged medical expenses during legal proceedings relating to child support payments, using the claimed financial burden of her illness to support their case.
The beginning of the end came when people close to Amanda started noticing inconsistencies. Questions emerged about details in her story, prompting concern among some of her supporters. Those concerns eventually reached Nancy Moscatiello who examined Amanda's claims in greater detail.
Nancy ultimately passed her findings to law enforcement, triggering a wider investigation involving the San Jose Police Department and federal authorities. In 2016, Amanda's home was searched as investigators gathered evidence. However, the legal process would take several more years to reach its conclusion.
In an unexpected twist, Amanda even attempted to obtain a restraining order against Nancy in 2017, after learning she was being investigated. But her request was ultimately denied by a judge.
Amanda was charged with wire fraud in 2020. Although she initially pleaded not guilty, she later changed her plea and admitted responsibility for the scheme. In 2022, she was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to repay the money taken from her donors.
Scamanda airs this Tuesday on BBC Two from 9pm.
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