In a shocking revelation, a 70-year-old immigration lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for orchestrating a large-scale immigration fraud scheme that exploited vulnerable immigrants and undermined the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.
The scheme, which spanned over seven years, from September 2016 to November 2023, involved Amankwaa and his associates filing thousands of fraudulent immigration applications under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
The applications falsely claimed that Amankwaa’s clients were victims of abuse by their U.S. citizen children, allowing them to obtain advance parole travel documents and eventually apply for permanent residency.
Kofi Amankwaa’s modus operandi was to charge his clients exorbitant fees, ranging from $3,000 to $6,000, plus administrative fees, for his services.
Unbeknownst to his clients, Amankwaa was using their applications to perpetuate a massive fraud scheme that would ultimately lead to his downfall.
The investigation into Amankwaa’s activities was led by the Newark Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, with support from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security.
The probe revealed that Amankwaa’s scheme was not only lucrative but also widespread, with thousands of immigrants affected.
Kofi Amankwaa’s sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, sends a strong message to immigration attorneys who engage in fraudulent activities.
The sentence also serves as a warning to immigrants who may be vulnerable to such scams.
In addition to his prison sentence, Amankwaa was ordered to forfeit $13,389,000 and pay $16,503,425 in restitution to his victims.
His license to practice law in the State of New York was also revoked.
-BY Daniel Bampoe
