A Bronx-based former immigration attorney was sentenced to 70 months (around 5 years and 8 months) in prison for immigration fraud in connection with his supervision of a multi-year scheme to file fraudulent immigration documents under the Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”), according to federal prosecutors.

 

Matthew Podolsky, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced Feb. 27 that Kofi Amankwaa, 70, of South River, New Jersey, was sentenced the same day, having previously pled guilty, as reported, on Sept. 17, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who imposed the sentence.

 

“Kofi Amankwaa, a former immigration attorney, made a mockery of the U.S. immigration system and VAWA, a law that provides noncitizen 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,” Podolsky said.

 

He added, “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.”

 

According to court filings, 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.

 

The court heard that 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 U.S. to travel abroad temporarily and return.

 

Prosecutors said Amankwaa then directed his clients, upon obtaining the advance parole travel documents, to travel abroad and return to the U.S. Last, they said Amankwaa used the fraudulently procured advance parole as a basis for his clients to apply for lawful permanent resident status.

 

Prosecutors said Amankwaa carried out the illegal scheme, knowing that his clients had not, in fact, been abused by their children or without asking whether any such abuse occurred. They said 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. They said Amankwaa typically charged his clients between $3,000 and $6,000 for his services, plus administrative fees.

 

They said 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, Amamkwaa was disbarred.

 

In addition to the prison term, prosecutors said Amankwaa was sentenced to three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $13,389,000. As part of his plea agreement, they said he has also agreed to pay $16,503,425 in restitution to his victims.

 

Prosecutors encourage those who believe they or their family members may be victims of VAWA fraud, who may be entitled to restitution from Amankwaa, to contact [email protected].

 

Podolsky praised what he described as the outstanding investigative work of the Newark field office of Homeland Security Investigations and also thanked the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security for their support in this investigation.

 

This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Z. Margulies is in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Samanatha Roberts, paralegal specialist.