Scam artist deceives victims with fake cancer story, scams $100K in donations

For years, Amanda Christine Riley, 39, deceived a devoted community as she fabricated a heartbreaking story about her health as she battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

She garnered sympathy, support, and more than $105,000 in donations – but it was all an elaborate con. 

But now, those she swindled are breaking their silence, sharing their anger, betrayal, and the lessons learned from Riley’s ruthless manipulation.

The elaborate ruse began in 2012 in San Jose, California, where Riley quickly rose to prominence in the Family Community Church, a sprawling mega-church with a congregation of 5,000 members.

As a dedicated member, loving wife, and stepmother, Riley’s shocking cancer diagnosis sent waves of sorrow through the congregation. 

Friends, family, and even strangers banded together, offering anything they could to help her in her supposed time of need. 

Riley wrote a powerful and moving Christian blog titled ‘Lymphoma Can Suck It,’ and fast became a symbol of resilience, inspiring countless supporters who unknowingly fell victim to her lies. 

Donations poured in from friends, strangers, and even celebrities, eager to ease the burden of her supposed suffering all shared by Riley as she chronicled her fictitious  battle with cancer.

Amanda Christine Riley, 39, deceived a devoted community as she fabricated a heartbreaking story about her health as she battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Riley managed to steal a total of $105,513 from more than 400 donations

Riley’s shocking cancer diagnosis sent waves of sorrow through the church’s congregation

‘When I ride on planes I tend to freak people out with wearing a mask or looking half dead, so I try to break the ice with whom ever [sic] sits with me,’ Riley wrote in one posting. 

‘I immediately bonded with the nice lady next to me who I quickly found out was in the last 6 months of her medical school residency… Upon leaving the plane, she gave me a little folded piece of paper and wished me a Merry Christmas. As I exited the plane, I opened it (curious what this perfect stranger just gave me… a phone number? Facebook link?). It was a blank check for $1300. WHAT!?’

She detailed an emotional rollercoaster of chemotherapy sessions, radiation treatments, and miraculous breakthroughs with her charisma and seemingly positive outlook in the face of adversity making her a beacon of hope and inspiration. 

‘I gave because I believed in her,’ said Lindsey Wilder, a former supporter. ‘I thought she was fighting for her life, and I wanted to help. To find out it was all a lie? It’s devastating.’

Riley’s deception only escalated in 2013 when she shocked her followers by announcing a miraculous pregnancy, despite supposedly undergoing intensive cancer treatments. 

For eight years, Riley lived a lie, basking in the warmth of a caring community that had no idea they were being deceived. 

In fact, community members only rallied around her even more, reinforcing her status as an extraordinary fighter. 

‘After all this chemo and radiation she had, she’s pregnant?’ recalled her babysitter, Mahasti Ameli, still reeling from the revelation.

Friends, family, and even strangers banded together, offering anything they could to help Riley in her supposed time of need

Doubts soon began to surface when Lisa Berry, pictured, once a close friend, became one of the first to question Riley’s inconsistencies

Riley’s blog seemed to track every step of her illness, often pictured in hospital beds

But doubts soon began to surface. 

Lisa Berry, once a close friend, became one of the first to question Riley’s inconsistencies. 

The breaking point came when Riley told Berry she had just undergone a medical procedure to drain fluid from her brain – only to later be seen effortlessly swimming underwater.

‘At some point, I started reading her blog. She’s posting pictures and I just was surprised seeing all the attention that she’s getting for it 

‘That’s when it hit me,’ Berry admitted. ‘This wasn’t adding up. And I started thinking about all the stories she told me.’

Determined to uncover the truth, Berry reached out to investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello in 2015, setting off a years-long probe that would ultimately unravel Riley’s elaborate scheme.

Moscatiello in turn brought her findings to Jose Martinez, a financial crimes detective based in San Jose.

‘I’m in this taboo kind of subject matter, where if I pursue this young lady, and she really does have cancer, it’s not gonna go well,’ Martinez said to ABC7.

Riley’s victims are reclaiming their voices, and telling their side of the story in a new docuseries

Riley wrote a powerful and moving Christian blog titled ‘Lymphoma Can Suck It,’ and fast became a symbol of resilience, inspiring countless supporters who unknowingly fell victim

Riley claimed one sympathetic person on a flight gave her a check for $1,300

The deception ran for eight years as Riley lived a lie, basking in the warmth of a caring community that had no idea they were being deceived

But his fact checking job was made slightly easier because Riley had posted so much to her blog.

‘There were things that weren’t lining up like doctors associated with particular hospitals, but not all of those doctors were named as employees of those hospitals,’ he said.

A breakthrough finally came when one of the hospitals Riley claimed to have visited finally responded to Martinez.

‘They said, ‘No, she’s never been here. She doesn’t have any future appointments. She never was here,” Martinez said.

The investigation eventually reached the IRS, leading to Riley’s indictment in July 2020 for wire fraud bringing years of deception to a crashing halt.

The Department of Justice confirmed Riley had orchestrated ‘a scheme to solicit donations from individuals to help her pay for cancer treatments she never needed nor received.’ 

In court, it emerged that her deceptions went far beyond what anyone previously knew with falsified medical records, forged physicians’ letters, and threats of lawsuits towards anyone who doubted her story. 

‘[S]he posted photos of medications, photos of herself at hospitals, and photos of herself allegedly suffering the side effects of chemotherapy,’ prosecutors said in a statement upon at Riley’s October 2021 guilty plea.

‘Riley added captions to the photos with false statements claiming that she was taking cancer drugs and receiving cancer treatment. She even shaved her head to make it appear as if she had lost her hair as a result of chemotherapy.’  

In May 2022, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison in May 2022  while also ordered to pay back the $105,513 she had stolen from more than 400 donations.

Court records show she has so far paid out less than $1,000. 

But her time behind bars was cut short and in December 2024, after serving only 19 months, she was released from prison in Texas and transferred to a residential reentry center in Southern California to serve out the remainder of her sentence.

Riley even shaved her head to make it appear as if she had lost her hair as a result of chemotherapy

Riley’s deceptions included falsifying medical records, forging physicians’ letters, and threats of lawsuits towards anyone who doubted her story

Scamanda is now on Hulu in four parts and is based on the number one podcast by the same name. It premiered on Thursday

Now, Riley’s victims are reclaiming their voices, and telling their side of the story in a new docuseries by ABC News / Hulu.

‘She destroyed trust,’ said one former donor. ‘I will never look at another fundraiser the same way again.’

‘She was a bright star in our church, in our lives,’ added another former supporter. ‘Now we’re left questioning everything.’

Scamanda is based on the number one podcast and premiered on Thursday. 

The series features exclusive interviews with those Riley deceived, investigators who brought her down, and the anonymous source who first blew the whistle on her lies.