• The "Scamanda" podcast takes listeners inside blogger Amanda C. Riley's fake cancer scheme.
• For seven years, Riley told people she had Hodgkin's lymphoma — she was lying. 
• The mom of two swindled over $100,000 from 349 donors.

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In 2012, California-based Christian blogger and mother of two Amanda Christine Riley started "Lymphoma Can Suck It," a since-archived blog documenting her journey after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in her late 20s. She used her blog and social media to publicize her journey with the aggressive form of cancer, winning over sympathy from friends, strangers, and even celebrities who gave her money for her medical treatments.

The only problem? Riley didn't have cancer.

Riley, now 38, never had any cancer treatments because she never had the disease. And according to a criminal complaint filed by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) special agent Arlette Lee in July 2020, she had used the ruse of the illness to bilk people out of thousands and thousands of dollars.

Riley is the subject of Charlie Webster's new hit podcast "Scamanda," which exposes Riley's web of lies with the help of Riley's victims, journalists, and law enforcement who worked the case.

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According to the complaint, the former teacher and principal convinced a mega-church, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers (including singer LeAnn Rimes) to donate over $100,000 to her and her family to help cover the cost of her non-existent cancer treatments and travel for experiences she said she wanted to have before she died.

Several times, Riley shared on her blog that she was near death. But then, she would experience a "terminal miracle" that would inexplicably put her cancer into remission, taking her followers on an emotionally manipulative ride. At one point, Riley even claimed that her pregnancy had "reversed the cancer." (It would always eventually return.)

According to the Department of Justice, Riley collected at least 349 donations totaling more than $105,000 over the seven years she perpetrated the fraud.

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So, where is Riley today? The end of her story isn't a miracle, but the consequences she faced are now a part of legal history.

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Amanda C. Riley faced strict repercussions for her fraud — and made legal history

The case wouldn't have happened without the work of investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello who began an initial investigation into Riley after receiving an anonymous tip that she should look into the blogger in 2019. Riley quickly went on the offensive, and attempted to sue her for civil harassment (the judge threw out the suit).

Moscatiello's own sister had died of cancer, and dug in, calling the hospitals and clinics Riley claimed to have been treated at, and closely examining the photos she posted on her blog. She took her findings to Jose Martinez, a now-retired San Jose-based financial crimes detective. Martinez, in turn, eventually passed the case on to the IRS, who took the case over the line.

The charges, brought against her in July 2020, were related to financial crimes associated with "a scheme to solicit donations from individuals to help her pay for cancer treatments she never needed nor received," the DOJ said.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the IRS's Lee, Riley violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, preventing anyone from "obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice."

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During the trial, it was revealed just how far Riley went to perpetrate the fraud, including shaving her head to appear as though she was receiving chemotherapy, falsifying medical records, forging physicians' documents, and creating a library of photos depicting her fake cancer journey.

In May 2022, Riley pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

She was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $105,513 and sentenced to 60 months in prison.

The case made IRS history for being the first financial conviction of someone who faked cancer for fundraising purposes, according to the podcast.

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Riley is currently incarcerated at FMC Carswell, a federal prison in Ft. Worth, Texas, that houses prisoners at all security levels and specializes in prisoners with mental and physical health needs.

At her sentencing, Judge Beth Labson Freeman said Riley "preyed on the kindness and goodwill of innocent, loving people" and "invaded the sanctity of communities and grieving members of support groups" in order to defraud her victims of their money and fund her own lifestyle, the Huffington Post reported.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors Stephanie M. Hinds and Michael G. Pitman noted "the awful irony" that Riley's friends "would have supported her if she had simply asked them honestly for help."

Instead, Riley "made the conscious decision to lie to people who trusted her, and to exploit that lie for financial gain over a period of several years. This conduct was a cynical betrayal of the victims' generosity, and it has fundamentally altered the victims' world-view."

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