A Bronx-based immigration legal professional who dedicated expansive fraud and stole $16 million from his purchasers was sentenced Wednesday to almost six years in jail.
Kofi Amankwaa, 70, was additionally ordered to pay the $16 million in restitution and $13 million in penalties, the Justice Division introduced in a press launch.
“People who immigrate to America are often vulnerable and simply trying to build better lives for themselves and their loved ones,” New York Legal professional Common Letitia James stated when Amankwaa was first accused in January 2024. “When these immigrants sought help from attorneys claiming to act in their best interests, they were taken advantage of and harmed instead.”
Amankwaa, a resident of South River, N.J., charged 1000’s of {dollars} per case at his Bronx-based agency. His scheme concerned profiting from the Violence Towards Ladies Act, which permits undocumented immigrants to use for inexperienced card standing in the event that they’re being abused.
In paperwork filed by Amankwaa, he claimed his purchasers have been being abused by their U.S. citizen youngsters, despite the fact that he knew they weren’t or by no means even bothered to ask, federal investigators stated.
He then suggested purchasers to exit and reenter the U.S. to acquire a passport stamp and put them on the trail to authorized residency, in response to the feds. Nevertheless, the scheme continuously failed, and plenty of immigrants have been deported.
Between 2017 and 2023, 97% of the VAWA petitions that Amankwaa filed have been withdrawn, deserted or denied, the Justice Division stated. A number of victims have been shocked to be taught of the abuse claims in Amankwaa’s paperwork.
“I was shocked when I found out,” Ricardo Velazquez Jr., who was falsely listed as an abuser, instructed WNBC of his father’s case. “[Amankwaa] destroyed so many American dreams.”
