AMANDA RILEY FAKED CANCER TO STEAL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM WELL-WISHERS
The petite woman standing on stage in front of a packed congregation at the Family Community Church in San Jose, California, was speaking movingly about her battle with cancer and how grateful she was to have God lifting her up through those dark times. Amanda Riley thanked everyone for the kindness they’d shown her during the past few years, and applause erupted. Then a queue formed as worshippers showered Amanda with bank notes.
And it wasn’t just the congregation that had helped Riley fund the treatment she’d needed after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2012. Local friends, family and even strangers on the internet had all pitched in. As well as cash, Riley was gifted luxury trips, first-class flights, theatre tickets, restaurant meals, groceries and babysitting, all to enhance the life of the devoted mother and wife – but it had all been a lie.
SCANDAL
Californian-born Riley came from a regular family and was a good student. At 17, she met a local family comprised of dad Cory, wife Aletta, their baby Jessa, and Aletta’s eight-year-old daughter Jamie. Jamie had leukaemia and Riley became her babysitter, teaching Jamie cheerleading to keep her spirits up. “She was sweet, a really nice girl,” recalls Aletta in new podcast Scamanda. At the age of ten, Jamie went into remission, but Cory and Aletta’s marriage broke down. To everyone’s shock, Cory began a relationship with Riley, who was 12 years his junior. Aletta was deeply hurt and the girls were confused. Jessa said, “Amanda became very overbearing and really did step into that parent figure. But it was a lot. It was really weird to me.”
The couple married, and soon after, filed for full custody of Jessa. This blindsided Aletta, who begged them to agree to co-parent, but Riley told everyone Aletta was an unfit mother. Cory and Riley were well liked in the community and people believed Jessa would be better off with them, especially after their own baby son, Carter, was born. Then Riley delivered her terrible news. She had cancer.
Everyone around them was heartbroken, including Jessa, who recalls in Scamanda, “I remember Amanda saying she was in pain. She stayed in bed all day. She was my family and I wanted nothing more than for her to be happy and healthy. I was terrified.”
Even Aletta was devastated. She suggested they drop the drawn-out custody battle over Jessa and instead work to support each other. But Riley and Cory were having none of it. It went to court and the judge bought their version of events, awarding them sole custody and leaving Aletta reeling. Not content with this victory, they allegedly turned Jessa against her mother, fracturing the relationship.
SUSPICIONS
