Scamanda: Start date for new documentary about Amanda Riley who lied about having cancer to commit 'an elaborate scam'
"Every loved her. We thought she was God's gift."
Scamanda, a true crime documentary landing on BBC Two, re-examines the chilling case of Amanda Riley, a “cancer con artist”.
The four-part documentary, which originally aired on Disney+ in 2025, gets its first free-to-air premiere in June 2026. And viewers won’t believe what they are about to hear.
Based on the hit investigative podcast, the series follows Amanda Riley. The wife, mother, and blogger “captivated thousands with her tragic cancer journey”. However, an anonymous tip eventually revealed it was all a “massive, years-long lie”.
Those of you horrified by The Mother of all Cons, will be equally compelled by this Amanda Riley documentary Scamanda. Here’s a quick breakdown of the story…
What is Scamanda on BBC Two about?
Based on the hit investigative podcast of the same name, the series follows Amanda Riley, a woman who shared her “tragic cancer story”. But she was hiding a sickening secret she was desperate to keep.
After telling her friends and family that she’d received a “devastating cancer diagnosis”, her community and church rallied around her. She inspired thousands more with a blog, “bravely chronicling her journey”.
But Amanda Riley was lying. She spent more than seven years pretending to have cancer, before she was finally exposed as a fraud – but not before fleecing people for lots of money.
Despite having her home raided in 2016 and knowing that investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello was doing a deep dive into her, Riley kept up the scam. However, in Scamanda, she finally addressed why she continued the elaborate ruse.
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Charlie Webster, who produced the 2023 Scamanda podcast (which was transformed into the docu-series), told Us Weekly: “She just carried on because then people would ask her [for health updates], right? She just dug herself in deeper and couldn’t get out of it.”
The series Scamanda primarily focuses on the investigative journey and interviews with her victims and journalists. But Amanda Riley also features in the show. Podcast host and producer Charlie Webster communicates with her directly from prison in the later episodes.
Who is Amanda Riley in the Scamanda documentary?
Amanda Christine Riley is mother to two young boys, and wife to Corey, and step-mum to Corey’s older daughter. She also claimed to be a devout Christian who was a popular speaker at her church. When she told her friends and family in 2012 that she’d been diagnosed with “stage 3 blood cancer”, they were all “devastated”.
Her San Jose church family rallied round her to help her “fight the battle she didn’t deserve”. Everybody prayed for her to be healed. In the documentary, a friend reminisced: “Every loved her. We thought she was God’s gift.”
Amanda herself said: “I’m thankful that I have cancer, because I’m now surrounded by the right people in my life.”
However, it truly shocking circumstances, Amanda was exposed as a liar after things “did not add up”. She did not have cancer, and had received no such diagnosis from any doctor. Amanda was a scammer and her actions were “beyond disgusting”.
She had even gone so far as to shave her head, forge medical documents, and stage hospital visits to keep up the lie.
What crime did Amanda Riley commit?
While lying about a medical condition is not a crime in itself, getting money through fraudulent means is. After telling people she has cancer, Amanda had “thousands of people throwing money at her”. One participant in the documentary revealed she’d “donated $500 a month”. In total, the community raised $100,000 towards Amanda’s so-called treatment.
Everybody’s lives have been touched by cancer in some way. And that was something Amanda tapped into in the most shameless way.
Amanda Riley committed wire fraud by faking a Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis for nearly a decade to swindle. She swindled $100,000 from more than 300 donors, using blogs and social media pages to document her fraudulent “cancer journey”, including fake chemotherapy treatments and hospital stays.
She solicited thousands of dollars in donations, claiming the money would be used for expensive medical treatments. However, she used the funds for personal expenses.
Amanda also forged physicians’ letters, medical records, and medical certifications to convince friends, family, and church members that she was ill.
Scamanda documentary: Where is Amanda Riley now?
Amanda Riley’s elaborate deception was eventually exposed through an investigative tip and subsequent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2021.
At the time, United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds said Amanda pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a scheme to solicit donations from individuals to help her pay for cancer treatments she never needed nor received.
She used her presence on social media to “document” her nonexistent medical condition, and to “aggressively solicit donations”, supposedly to cover her medical expenses. In truth, Riley had no medical expenses.
Amanda convinced family members to echo her false claims, and even gave materially false testimony in several legal proceedings. Shockingly, she attacked anyone who suggested she was lying, and even sued one of them.
Her scheme continued from 2012 until 2019, when it was uncovered by an investigation of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the San Jose Police Department.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman sentenced Amanda to 60 months – the equivalent of five years – in federal prison. As well as the prison sentence, Judge Freeman ordered that Riley pay back the amount of $105,513. The sentence also included a three year period of supervision following her release from prison.
Her release date is scheduled for October 15, 2026.
