What did Amanda Riley do? Details explored ahead of Scamanda on ABC

ABC is all set to premiere a new documentary series called Scamanda, which will delve into the shocking crimes committed by Amanda Riley. Amanda Riley is a Californian woman who faked her blood cancer diagnosis to collect over $100,000 in donations.

Born as Amanda Maneri, Amanda Riley claimed to have been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma since 2012 after giving birth to her first son. She documented her fake cancer journey through her blog, Lymphoma Can Suck It, which went viral in a matter of a few days. She shared her supposed cancer journey in such a way that people believed, and slowly she built a community for bearing her medical expenses.

Her community, consisting of her well-wishers, co-workers, friends, and family, provided financial support that funded Riley's lifestyle. As her popularity grew, she continued posting on her blog, where she even showed that her lymphoma spread into her lungs. While going through the treatment, she got pregnant with her second child, which garnered her more sympathy.

However, her lies were exposed as someone sent an anonymous tip to investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello. What followed was a five-year-long investigation that resulted in Riley's web of lies being exposed. She posted fake images that proved that she had cancer (shaven head and fake hospital visits) for eight long years.

Watch Scamanda on Thursday, January 30, at 9 PM ET on ABC to uncover more secrets and lies about Amanda Riley and how she got caught.

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How was the ABC series Scamanda subject Amanda Riley caught?

When investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello was sent an anonymous tip to investigate Riley's blogs, she started gathering multiple pieces of evidence. Evidence that proved Riley was faking her cancer journey. In 2015, the host of the Scamanda podcast, Nancy Moscatiello, then submitted the evidence to a detective in the financial crimes unit in the San Jose, California, Police Department.

The information was then forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which led to a search warrant issue for Riley's home. However, no further action was taken against Riley. When Riley found out about the investigation against her fueled by Nancy Moscatiello, Riley attempted to get a restraining order against her in 2017. However, the court ruled against the order. Moscatiello gathered the evidence and then handed more evidence against Riley to the police department and the IRS.

Finally, Riley pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in October 2021. She was sentenced to 60 months, or five years, in prison in May 2022. She also has to pay restitution to the victims of her fake cancer scam. Throughout the years Riley had gathered a substantial amount to fund her treatment while the money actually went to her personal bank account. Around 300 people were named to have been victims of the cancer donation scam, who raised over $105,000.

When Amanda was asked about her actions, she said that she was 'ashamed' of her doings and that she 'had been dealing with the repercussions of this for years.'

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Where is Amanda Riley now?

Riley is currently serving her five-year prison sentence at Federal Medical Centre Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. Her sentence began in September 2022. The Federal Medical Centre houses other inmates too, whose medical needs, both physical and mental, are taken care of. In 2024 Riley sought a reduction in her prison term on medical grounds but was denied the request by the judge.

Apart from this, Corey Riley also filed for divorce in January 2024. After her release from the prison, she will undergo a three-year probation and has to pay off the people she swindled, as per the 2022 press release of the US Attorney Office.

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