Ghanaian lawyer jailed for Immigration fraud in U.S

A former Bronx-based immigration attorney with Ghanaian descent, Kofi Amankwaa, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for orchestrating a multi-year immigration fraud scheme involving fraudulent applications under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentencing on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, after Amankwaa pleaded guilty in September 2024.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla delivered the sentence, holding Amankwaa accountable for exploiting the immigration system for personal gain.

According to court records, Amankwaa and his team filed thousands of fraudulent immigration applications between September 2016 and November 2023.

Amankwaa personally met with clients and instructed them to sign fraudulent Form I-360 VAWA petitions falsely stating that they were abused by their U.S. citizen children. He also signed the petitions himself, under penalty of perjury, as the attorney preparer.

Using these fraudulent filings, Amankwaa secured advance parole travel documents for his clients, permits that allow individuals without legal status in the U.S. to temporarily travel abroad. Upon their return, Amankwaa used the same fraudulent claims to apply for their permanent residency, despite knowing they were not actual victims of abuse.

AMANKWAA carried out this illegal scheme knowing that his clients had not, in fact, been abused by their children or without asking whether any such abuse occurred.  Moreover, AMANKWAA was often unsuccessful in obtaining lawful permanent resident status for his clients because the clients’ immigration applications were denied on the basis of fraud, among other reasons. AMANKWAA typically charged his clients between $3,000 and $6,000 for his services, plus administrative fees.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky criticized Amankwaa’s fraudulent actions.

“Kofi Amankwaa, a former immigration attorney,made a mockery of the U.S. immigration system and VAWA, a law that provides non-citizen victims of domestic abuse a path to lawful permanent residence status, by filing thousands of immigration documents falsely alleging that his clients were victims of abuse by their children or other family members. Amankwaa repeatedly filed these false applications without telling his clients that he was doing so, and pocketed thousands of dollars from each client he victimized.  Amankwaa now faces a significant prison sentence for his crimes,” Podolsky said.

Due to numerous complaints from victims, authorities suspended Amankwaa’s law license in November 2023. By August 2024, he had been officially disbarred.

In addition to his prison term, the court ordered Amankwaa to serve three years of supervised release, forfeit $13,389,000, and pay $16,503,425 in restitution to his victims. Authorities have urged those affected by Amankwaa’s fraud to reach out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at [email protected] to seek possible restitution.

Acting U.S. Attorney Podolsky commended the investigative team for their hard work in uncovering the scheme.

“This conviction is part of our broader effort to protect the integrity of the legal immigration system and hold those who exploit it accountable,” he added.

Authorities continue to investigate similar cases to prevent further abuse of U.S. immigration laws. Amankwaa’s conviction serves as a warning to those attempting to defraud the system for financial gain.