Scamanda: Where Amanda Riley is now, when she'll be released, and 'sobbing' phone call from prison
She swindled $100,000 from more than 300 donors
Amanda Riley is the focus of jaw-dropping documentary Scamanda and, as the title suggests, she pulled off an “elaborate hoax” which robbed hundreds of well-meaning people out of their money.
The four-part documentary drops on BBC Two this week, and examines the truly disturbing tale of mum-of-two Amanda. For more than eight years, she lied about having cancer, while begging those around her for charitable donations towards her care.
The truth? Amanda Riley was a liar. The wife, mother, and ‘devout Christian’ “captivated thousands with her tragic cancer journey”. However, she was eventually exposed as a fraud. Despite her claims that she had received a “devastating cancer diagnosis”, Amanda was not ill.
She faked a Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis for nearly a decade. In that time, she swindled $100,000 from more than 300 kindly donors.
So where is Amanda Riley now? Will she ever be free, and the truth about an “upset” phone call where she seemed to blame her husband Cory for the scam…
Amanda Riley’s recently ‘sobbed’ during prison phone call
Podcaster Charlie Webster, the woman behind Scamanda, has kept up her correspondence with Amanda Riley during the time she’s been in prison.
After a 25-minute conversation with Amanda from federal prison, Charlie told US channel News Nation: “Amanda told me that she and Corey were divorcing. Amanda said that a lot of the money that she raised through saying she had cancer actually was spent on Corey’s divorce to Aleeta and child custody and child support for Jessa.
“Amanda got really upset at one point in the conversation about her children. It seemed very genuine. She was really crying, very, very upset – sobbing. She said she was sorry and does want to take accountability. She looked well. That was the one thing that surprised me. She’s still saying that she’s got health problems. I honestly don’t know what I think about that. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
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In other talks between Amanda and Charlie, Amanda told Charlie she “can’t believe what she’s done”. Charlie explained: She is sorry. It’s up to people whether they want to believe that. It just became a spiralled lie that became very addictive. And I can kind of see that because of how we perceive social media… I feel like this was very much about validation, attention, and it became very addictive rather than about the finances.”
What was Amanda Riley guilty of?
Amanda Riley’s elaborate deception was eventually exposed after an anonymous tip and subsequent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation.
In 2021, 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.
Where is Amanda Riley now?
Judge Beth Labson Freeman sentenced Amanda to 60 months – the equivalent of five years – in federal prison. She began serving her sentence at Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, in September 2022. She has since been moved to RRM Long Beach, a residential re-entry facility in San Pedro, California.
At her trial , she admitted “her intent was to deceive people into believing she had cancer and, in doing so, to convince them to donate money to her”.
At her sentencing hearing, Amanda Riley apologised to the judge and victims. She said: “This is the worst thing I have ever done and the worst mistake I could have made. I don’t sleep well at night because this haunts me daily. I can’t even look at myself in the mirror without feeling ashamed, and I am so sorry.”
Amanda, who is currently 41, is now divorced from her husband Cory. He filed for divorce after her imprisonment. He hasn’t faced any charges related to the scam.
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.
In 2024, Amanda Riley asked for her sentence to be reduced to time served on the grounds of compassionate release. She cited various illnesses she was allegedly suffering in prison. However, the judge denied her request, saying that there was “evidence the defendant was once again feigning illness”.
Her statement in court
Riley delivered a statement at her sentencing hearing on May 03, 2022. It said the following:
“There aren’t enough words to adequately express how horrific I feel and how sorry I am that this happened. My heart aches every day, thinking that I did something that hurt other people. This is the worst thing I’ve ever done and the worst mistake I could have made.” She also said she felt “ashamed” by her actions, and said she had “been dealing with the repercussions of this for years”.
Amanda continued: “I threw away my dream career, lost all my friends and family. I went from being a nobody, to being negatively covered in dozens of tabloids and news articles. It’s time to step forward and be accountable. I’m here to accept responsibility and humbly accept my consequences as the first step of showing everyone I want to make this right. I will spend the rest of my life working towards the amends for the hurt that I have caused.”
Addressed her stepdaughter, Jessa Gonzalez, she said: “I hope this brings you the closure and clarity you have been seeking. I’m so sorry you were in the dark for what was truly happening for so long. You had to walk through this, and it breaks my heart to know I hurt you.”
In addition, Amanda Riley mentioned the two sons she shares with Cory Riley. She added: “Our two young boys were babies when this started, so they were too little to be affected by my bad choices. Now to see them as big boys who are going to see their mom go through this process, is going to flip their world upside down.”
Does Amanda Riley have Münchausen syndrome?
Some medical experts believe that Amanda Riley’s symptoms could be part of a larger pattern of mental illness. According to The Guardian, three doctors and a nurse who treated Riley during her prison sentence have suggested she might suffer from factitious disorder. This is more commonly known as Münchausen syndrome.
A fourth doctor even made an official diagnosis. Münchausen syndrome is a psychological disorder in which a person pretends to be sick or purposefully produces symptoms of illness, usually to gain sympathy or attention.
Reports say her ‘illnesses’ have continued behind bars. In August 2024, a San Francisco Chronicle article detailed how her “deceit” has allegedly continued in prison. According to prosecutors, Riley was transported to an emergency room 24 times during her first 18 months of incarceration. Her complaints ranged from a rapid heartbeat and chest pains to a cut on her head.
Amanda Riley’s attorneys have argued her most recent symptoms are legitimate. And they petitioned for her early release, quoting her inability to receive proper treatment for asthma, low blood pressure, and other ailments. However, the judge denied the request after prosecutors argued that she was caught “attempting to manipulate test results”, such as by holding her breath during oxygen saturation readings.
Read more: New documentaries and true crime on TV and streaming in June 2026
