New York-based Ghanaian lawyer and son charged over alleged seven-year immigration fraud scheme
According to a complaint, the lawyer Kofi Amankwaa and his son advised clients seeking green cards to sign petitions, that falsely claimed that they were being abused by their children, who were American citizens.
US authorities on Monday, arrested and charged Bronx-based Ghanaian lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa and his son, for allegedly orchestrating a seven-year scheme that defrauded hundreds of immigrants and caused some of them to be deported.
According to a complaint, Mr Amamkwaa and his son advised clients seeking green cards to sign petitions, that falsely claimed they were victims of abuse under the country's Violence Against Women Act - a law that enables noncitizen victims of domestic abuse a path to lawful permanent residence status in the US.
“From September 2016 through November 2023, AMANKWAA and AMANKWAA, JR., met with clients and directed them to sign fraudulent Form I-360 Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”) Petitions falsely stating that the clients were abused by their U.S. citizen children. AMANKWAA also signed the petitions, under penalty of perjury, as the attorney preparer.
“The defendants carried out this illegal scheme knowing that their clients had not, in fact, been abused by their children or without ever asking whether any such abuse occurred. Moreover, the defendants were often unsuccessful in obtaining lawful permanent resident status for their clients because the clients’ immigration applications were denied on the basis of fraud, among other reasons. The defendants typically charged their clients $6,000 for their services, plus administrative fees,” authorities there detailed in a statement.
Amamkwaa had his law practising licence suspended in November last year, following complaints from clients, the statement said further.
“KOFI AMANKWAA, 69, and KOFI AMANKWAA, JR., 37, both of South River, New Jersey, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit immigration fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of immigration fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison."
