NEWARK, N.J. — Following an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, a Bronx, New York-based former immigration attorney pleaded guilty to charges in a large-scale immigration fraud scheme.
Kofi Amankwaa, 70, of South River, pleaded guilty Sept. 17 to immigration fraud in connection with his supervision of a multiyear scheme to file fraudulent immigration documents under the Violence Against Women Act before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“Kofi Amankwaa’s victimization of clients during their immigration process is a serious violation of trust and our nation’s laws,” said HSI Newark acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “Thanks to our partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the support of the New York State Attorney General’s Office, justice was served in this case. HSI will remain committed to protecting victims of fraud and abuse.”
According to the investigation, from September 2016 through November 2023, Amankwaa and others at his direction met with clients and instructed them to sign fraudulent Form I-360 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.
Amankwaa used the filing of the fraudulent Form I-360 VAWA petitions, among other filings, as a basis to request for his clients’ advance parole travel documents — documents that enable individuals without legal status in the United States to travel abroad temporarily and return. Amankwaa then directed his clients, upon obtaining the advance parole travel documents, to travel abroad and return to the United States. Amankwaa used the fraudulently procured advance parole as a basis for his clients to apply for lawful permanent resident status.
Amankwaa carried out this illegal scheme knowing that his clients had not, in fact, been abused by their children or without ever 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.
In November 2023, following numerous complaints by clients regarding the fraudulent abuse allegations, Amankwaa’s license to practice law in the state of New York was suspended, and in August 2024, Amankwaa was disbarred.
As part of his plea, Amankwaa agreed to forfeit $13,389,000 and pay $16,503,425 in restitution to his victims.
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