If you’re anything like Us, you couldn’t get enough of the “Scamanda” podcast that dropped in May 2023. Luckily, there’s now an ABC docuseries of the same name that digs even deeper into the bizarre case.
Like the podcast, the Scamanda series will document the story of Amanda Riley, whose blog recounting her struggles with stage 3 blood cancer reached thousands of people. On the surface, Riley was an ordinary wife and mother devoted to her Christian faith. But when investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello received an anonymous tip about Riley, the facade began to crack.
“Soon, Amanda’s own words may prove to be her downfall,” the official synopsis for Scamanda teases.
Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about Scamanda:
Is There a Trailer for ‘Scamanda?’
Yes. The official teaser for the series features snippets of interviews from various people who believed Riley when she told them she had cancer. One participant calls her “a beloved young Christian woman fighting a battle undeserved.”
The trailer then documents the same community who rallied around Riley realizing that she wasn’t sick at all, and that their kindness had been taken advantage of.
“Thousands of people threw money at her,” one person recalls, while another notes that Riley’s loved ones “raised $100,000” to help pay for her treatments.
“What surprised me is the lengths that she went to to fake cancer,” another person says.
Did Amanda Riley Commit a Crime?
In Riley’s case, lying about having cancer was not just shocking, it was criminal. After asking for donations to cover medical expenses that did not exist, Riley pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2021. She is currently serving a five year prison sentence.
Is Nancy Moscatiello Involved With the ‘Scamanda’ Series?
Yes. Moscatiello, who turned an anonymous tip into a five-year investigation of Riley and served as an executive producer for the “Scamanda” podcast, can be seen in a trailer for the series and has posted about it via social media.
How Will the ‘Scamanda’ Series Be Different From the Podcast?
If you listened to the “Scamanda” podcast, you know it painted a detailed picture of Riley’s lies and how she maintained them: shaving her head to make it look like she was undergoing chemotherapy, staging convincing photos of herself in the hospital and even suing Moscatiello for defamation after learning about her investigation. The series will provide further information via new interviews from former friends of Riley, a neuropsychologist who sheds light on why certain people commit scams, and law enforcement officials and an IRS investigator who covered the case.
Scamanda also features communications between Riley and “Scamanda” podcast host Charlie Webster as well as materials that Moscatiello gathered during her investigation of Riley.
Does Amanda Riley Have Kids?
Riley shares two sons, Carter and Connor, with her husband, Cory Riley. Amanda dubbed her two children “miracles,” claiming that she shouldn’t have been able to deliver healthy babies while undergoing cancer treatment. Amanda and Cory are still married, and Cory has not been charged in connection with Amanda’s crimes.
Is Amanda Riley’s Blog Still Active?
The blog where Amanda fraudulently documented her cancer journey, titled “Lymphoma Can Suck It,” is no longer active and has been deleted from the internet. She wrote about her cancer experience online from 2012 to 2019 before being charged with wire fraud in 2020.
When Does ‘Scamanda’ Premiere?
The docuseries premieres on ABC Wednesday, October 16, at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes will air every Wednesday and be available to stream on Hulu the day after airing.
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