Woman fakes cancer by shaving head to swindle $100,000 in California, feds say

A 36-year-old California woman committed so totally to her role as a cancer patient in a seven-year scam that she shaved her head, federal prosecutors said.

Amanda Christine Riley pleaded guilty to wire fraud Tuesday in a case involving swindling more than $106,000 in donations intended to help cover her nonexistent medical costs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern California said in a news release.

The scam began in 2012 when Riley, then living in San Jose, came up with a plan to falsely claim she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma to raise money, prosecutors said.

She solicited donations online and at local fundraisers until 2019, the release said. Along with shaving her head, Riley also posted photos to social media accounts purporting to show her receiving cancer treatments, including chemotherapy.

Riley never had Hodgkin’s lymphoma or any other cancer, prosecutors said. All of the more than 400 donations she received were deposited to her personal bank account.

She will be sentenced in February, when she faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, prosecutors said. She may also be ordered to pay restitution.

This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Woman fakes cancer by shaving head to swindle $100,000 in California, feds say."