Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Scamanda!
The true crime docuseriesScamandadiscusses Cory Riley – Amanda Riley’s husband throughout the scam – raising questions about where he has been since her conviction. Between scams and serial killers, crime content has risen in popularity over the past decade, withtrue crime podcastsbeing a popular medium. One of the best podcasts of 2023 wasScamanda, which exposed a woman named Amanda Riley, who pretended to have cancer to scam her community out of over $100,000. Given its success, ABC picked upScamandafor an onscreen adaptation, with episodes releasing on Hulu the day after airing.
TheTV show will leave audiences in awein the worst way possible. Although the story focuses primarily on Amanda Riley, a lot of time and attention also goes to her husband, Cory Riley, who may or may not have known about the whole thing. Naturally, questions arise about where he’s been since Amanda Riley’s conviction and what involvement he had in perpetrating the scam. Luckily, tiny bits of information have come out that provide a better picture.
Cory Riley Filed For Divorce From Amanda Riley In 2024
Cory Riley Lived In Texas When He Filed For Divorce
Before Amanda’s guilty plea, she and Cory moved to Texas with their two sons after she lost her job as the principal at Pacific Point Christian School in Gilroy, California. Throughout the trial, he remained by Amanda’s side. Afterward, Cory stayed in Texas, where Amanda was previously serving her prison sentence. The pair remained married for around two years after her 2022 sentencing, but Cory filed for divorce in 2024, according to records verified byTODAY.com. At the time of his filing, he was still in the state with his sons.
Charges are filed against Amanda Riley
2024(unknown month)
Cory Riley files for divorce
June 2024
Judge Beth Labson denies a motion to reduce Amanda Riley’s sentence.
July 29, 2025
Amanda Riley’s scheduled release date
Cory has remained extremely private, so his whereabouts within Texas and his relationship status are unknown. However, his dynamic with his daughter is known. Jessa confirmed on theScamandapodcast that she hasn’t seen Cory or Amanda in a long time, and they won’t admit that Amanda never had cancer. Instead, Jessa says that they insist that “things are not as they seem.”
Why Cory Riley Didn’t Participate In The Scamanda Podcast
Cory Riley Hasn’t Publicly Acknowledged The Scamanda Podcast
One of the primary individuals interviewed for the Scamanda podcast is Cory’s daughter, Jessa, who lived with her father and Amanda during the cancer scam. She spoke candidly about her experience during the scam and the emotional impact of the trauma. Despite this,Cory Riley didn’t participate in the Scamanda podcast, and he’s never addressed why.
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It’s possible Scamanda’s host, Charlie Webster, and the producer, Nancy Moscatiello, didn’t ask him to participate. After all, Moscatiello explains inScamanadathat Amanda and Cory tried to get a restraining order against Moscatiello to silence her from speaking about the scam, which a judge rejected. He also might have decided not to talk on the podcast because it might’ve opened him up to criticism and questions about his culpability. Cory also could’ve been protecting his two sons by distancing himself from the publicity. All these explanations are simply speculation, though. It seems unlikely that he will ever address the podcast or thetrue crime documentary on Hulu.
Did Cory Riley Know About Amanda Riley’s Cancer Scam?
Cory Riley’s Official Stance Is That He Didn’t Know About Amanda’s Cancer Scam
The question of whether Cory Riley knew about his wife’s crimes varies depending on the individual asked. According to audio that theScamandahost obtained and discussed in the episode “Crime Story: Charlie Webster on Amanda C Riley’s Web of Lies,” Cory testified under oath in bankruptcy court that he’d gone to every appointment with his wife for five years. This aligns with his repeated stance that he believed Amanda had cancer and didn’t know she was lying.
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When asked about her thoughts in the episode, Webster is careful not to make any direct accusations and doesn’t provide an explicit “yes” or “no” whether she thinks Cory knew. However, she does bring up his other lies, such as his profession, and she instructs the audience to listen closely to the podcast when deciding for themselves. However,many individuals who knew Cory and Amanda directly alleged that he knew about Amanda’s scam. Cory’s daughter, Jessa, stated in “Chapter 6” of theScamandapodcast that she thought he knew. She said this of his behavior:
“I don’t know how to describe it.He was very – I want to say, ‘not himself,’ but I don’t really know who he is as a person. He just kind of looked numb all the time. He knew he was doing something wrong.”
Jessa also remembered trips to the hospital, which she interpreted as trying to prove that Amanda was actually sick, since they constantly used the excuse that she was too ill to do things. She also asserted that her dad stopped going to appointments with Amanda, which contradicts Cory’s statement under oath. In the same episode, Detective Jose Martinez agrees with Jessa. He told Webster this:
“I felt he knew exactly what was going on, and his part of the act was to play as if he didn’t know. I’m like,‘Oh my god. Oh, she’s not sick.’ I thought in his head he had been doing it for a while too.’”
In “Chapter 8” ofScamanda, Jessa’s half-sister, Jamie, agreed with her sister’s assertion, saying she believed Cory played a role in the scam. The babysitter Cory and Amanda hired, Mahasti, agreed, saying she couldn’t think of a way he wasn’t involved. Despite the doubts of many,Cory has never been charged or convicted of anything related to the wire fraudthat Amanda Riley perpetrated. Ultimately, it’s up to viewers of theScamandadocuseries to decide what they believe for themselves.
