A Bronx-based immigration attorney who committed expansive fraud and stole $16 million from his clients was sentenced Wednesday to nearly six years in prison.
Kofi Amankwaa, 70, was also ordered to pay the $16 million in restitution and $13 million in penalties, the Justice Department announced in a press release.
“People who immigrate to America are often vulnerable and simply trying to build better lives for themselves and their loved ones,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said 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 thousands of dollars per case at his Bronx-based firm. His scheme involved taking advantage of the Violence Against Women Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to apply for green card status if they’re being abused.
In paperwork filed by Amankwaa, he claimed his clients were being abused by their U.S. citizen children, even though he knew they weren’t or never even bothered to ask, federal investigators said.
He then advised clients to exit and reenter the U.S. to obtain a passport stamp and put them on the path to legal residency, according to the feds. However, the scheme frequently failed, and many immigrants were deported.
Between 2017 and 2023, 97% of the VAWA petitions that Amankwaa filed were withdrawn, abandoned or denied, the Justice Department said. Several victims were stunned to learn of the abuse claims in Amankwaa’s documents.
“I was shocked when I found out,” Ricardo Velazquez Jr., who was falsely listed as an abuser, told WNBC of his father’s case. “[Amankwaa] destroyed so many American dreams.”
