A California woman was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for faking a cancer diagnosis and soliciting donations to help pay for her treatment.
Amanda Christine Riley, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in October.
Federal authorities said Riley raised $105,513 in the fraud scheme after alleging on social media and her blog that she was battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She received 349 donations from individuals and entities through her fake cancer fundraising scheme.
Prosecutors said the scheme began in 2012 when the former principal, who was then living in San Jose, began posting on social media, including on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as on a blog about her cancer diagnosis.
“She used her presence on these sites to ‘document’ her nonexistent medical condition, and to aggressively solicit donations, supposedly to cover her medical expenses,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “In truth, Riley had no medical expenses. The donations she received were deposited into her personal bank accounts and used to pay her living expenses.”
On the sites, she wrote about her so-called cancer journey and the treatments she was receiving, even posting photos of her hospitals stays, the drugs she was taking, and the chemotherapy side effects she was experiencing.
Riley, prosecutors said, also shaved her head to make it look like she lost her hair due to cancer treatment.
Her blog, titled “Lymphoma Can Suck It,” also contained a link to a support page titled “Amanda’s Battle with Cancer,” where you could donate money.
In addition, prosecutors said Riley falsified medical records, forged physicians’ letters and medical certifications and attacked anyone who suggested she was lying.
Prosecutors said her scheme finally unraveled in 2019 after an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the San Jose Police Department.
And in court on Tuesday, her family members and former co-workers testified about the ‘caring’ woman they knew, who is always there for her two young boys and her family.
Ginny Whelchel, a teacher at Pac Point Christian School, noting that Riley ‘spent considerable time with troubled students and their families’ and created a community service group.
Her brother, Tom Maneri, also wrote in his Victim Impact Statement that ‘Amanda made a significant and life-changing mistake,’ claiming it ‘most likely started out as an outcry for attention and help.
‘I’m confident she was in too deep and didn’t know how to climb back out of the hole she had been digging for so long,’ he wrote in the statement, which he read in court on Tuesday.
‘After you’ve been living with a big lie on your chest for years, I can imagine it becomes part of your identity,’ he added.
‘She made a mistake and I’m confident she and I both look forward to getting past the legal repercussions of her actions so that my entire family can work towards a healthier and brighter future.’
Meanwhile, Riley’s father, Thomas Maneri, wrote that: “Amanda has always been a very thoughtful and kind person, putting other people’s feelings often before her own.”
“I’ve tried to be equally supportive of Amanda, and although she didn’t have cancer, she has struggled with several other physical health issues.”
“She has always wanted my approval, and I know it breaks her heart to let me down.”
“It breaks my heart to see her so broken from the weight of her horrible decision, and the pressure to protect her family thru the process.”
“Our family struggled last Fall when Amanda finally told us all the truth,” he continued.
“But thru our anger, we still see the light in her and have seen the Hell she has been through that we wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
Riley is required to pay back the money she bilked from donors.