Woman who faked cancer sentenced in fraud scam

A South Bay woman who solicited more than $100,000 in donations by pretending that she had cancer was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in San Jose to five years in prison, prosecutors said.

The woman, Amanda Christine Riley, had pleaded guilty in October to one count of wire fraud for a seven-year scheme based on the fraudulent claim that she had cancer and needed money to pay for medical treatments, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a news release.

In truth, Riley neither needed nor received any of the medical treatments she claimed to be raising money for on social media, prosecutors said.

After soliciting $105,513 from at least 349 individuals, Riley was found out in 2019 through an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the San Jose Police Department, and was charged in July 2020, the release said.

In addition to her prison sentence, Riley was ordered to pay restitution of $105,513 as well as serve a three-year period of supervision after her release.

Beginning in 2012, Riley, then a San Jose resident, claimed to have been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and used Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a blog to solicit money she falsely claimed would be used to cover medical expenses, prosecutors said. She posted pictures of medications, of herself at hospitals, and of herself suffering what she falsely claimed were side effects from chemotherapy, according to an October news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Riley also shaved her head to make it seem as though she was receiving cancer treatment, falsified medical records, forged physicians’ letters and medical certifications, and persuaded her family members to support her false claims, according to information provided at the sentencing hearing.

She also organized several fundraisers, including inperson events at her church in San Jose, to raise money for her “supposed cancerrelated expenses,” according to the release.

“In truth, Riley had no medical expenses,” prosecutors said. “The donations she received were deposited into her personal bank accounts and used to pay her living expenses.”