BACK in 2020, a mom-of-two hit the headlines after it was revealed she’d faked having cancer in a bid to con donors out of thousands of dollars.
The woman who uncovered Amanda Riley’s terrible crime was investigative journalist, Charlie Webster.
In 2012, California native Amanda Riley started a blog where she opened up about “having cancer“.
However, it was all lies and was just the start of a seven year scam to manipulate her friends and family, as well as her local community.
Amanda used social media to pretend to her followers that she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
This disease is a rare cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system.
By convincing her followers she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, she was able to con them out of money by asking for donations for “treatment”.
Calling her blog “Support Amanda”, she filled the page with photos of herself from hospital beds looking really sick.
In some of the pictures she was seen hooked up to multiple IVs and she even went as far as shaving her head.
But none of it was true – it was all fake, and one big con to squeeze cash out of kind-hearted folk.
Uncovering the truth
However, evil Amanda didn’t fool everyone, and that’s where Charlie Webster comes in.
Hailing from Sheffield in England, Charlie is an investigative journalist who has worked for big British broadcast companies like Channel 4 and Sky.
She is also an actual survivor, who almost lost her life to Malaria.
Teaming up with producer Nancy Moscatiello, the two women unraveled Amanda’s cruel lies in their podcast Scamanda.
Speaking to The U.S Sun. Charlie said of Amanda: “This is a really deep, subtle manipulation.
People were being very hurt, and they were scared of Amanda Riley really scared.
Charlie Webster
“I think it’s very hard to see because if you question somebody that’s got cancer, that’s in front of you, showing you that she’s got cancer. She didn’t just sit behind a keyboard.
“She did the thing that showed what cancer looked like. She went to hospitals, she had IVs in her arms.”
Speaking about the extend of her lies and manipulation, Charlie added: “People were being very hurt, and they were scared of Amanda, really scared.
“I spent some time, and I found out who was a part of Amanda’s community and friendship, and I had to be really careful because, at this time, some people still believed Amanda.
“People believed Amanda right up until the sentencing day, and sometimes I was speaking to people, and they really didn’t know what I knew. They really didn’t know she was faking cancer.”
Pleading guilty to fraud
Amanda’s seven-year fraud came crashing down in 2020.
She was arrested after the IRS’ criminal division began investigating her story after it garnered attention on social media.
In 2022, Amanda pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
The Department of Justice said at least 349 people and entities contributed to her fabricated medical expenses between 2012 and 2019, totaling $105,513.
Amanda was sentenced to five years in jail and won’t be up for release until 2027.
Charlie revealed how she has kept in touch with the fraudster since she has been behind bars.
She told us that Amanda is “remorseful” about what she did and admitted that it was “something that got carried away.”
Charlie said: “[Amanda] has opened up to me over this period of time, and she’s said to me that she is sorry.
“She was extremely upset about what she’s done, that she regrets it, and that she’s sorry and she’s accountable.
“[Amanda] said that she wants to serve her time, and she takes the sentence and responsibility, and the punishment, and she wants to try and mend things with her children, be a mom, and try to figure out how to work through this.
“She has told me that this is something that got carried away and she tried to stop, but she was worried about everybody finding out, and people hating her, and her losing everything.
“And she did say to me, ‘But look at where I’m at now. If I would’ve just stopped, but now I have lost everything. Look at me now.’”
Watch the Scamanda documentary
Amanda’s story, as well as those of her victims, will be looked at in the the ABC docuseries Scamanda.
The documentary is based on Charlie’s podcast of the same name.
Scamanda is expected to premiere on ABC in 2025, but an exact date and time are yet to be confirmed.
