A Ghanaian lawyer based in the United States of America, Kofi Amankwaa and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jnr, face a collective fifteen years in jail for running an immigration fraud scheme in the U.S.
The duo ran a law firm in New York and defrauded many clients over multiple years, according to prosecutors in America.
Kofi Amankwaa and his son Junior are alleged to have exploited their clients, most of whom were immigrants seeking legal status to stay in the United States.
According to a filing by the Department of Justice following the arrest of the duo, the two carried out a “large-scale immigration fraud scheme,”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Kofi Amankwaa, an immigration attorney, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa, Jr., sought to make a mockery of the U.S. immigration system by conspiring to defraud the United States and commit immigration fraud.
“Amankwaa and his son allegedly exploited the Violence Against Women Act — a law that allows noncitizen victims of domestic abuse a path to lawful permanent residence status — for their own financial gain by falsely claiming that their clients were victims of domestic abuse.
“Thanks to the dedicated actions of our law enforcement partners and the career prosecutors of this Office, the defendants must now answer for these crimes.”
Added HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso said: “Kofi Amankwaa is charged with deceitful practices whereby he allegedly victimized clients who relied on his legal assistance with their immigration process. HSI is committed to protecting the applicants, petitioners, and requestors of U.S. citizenship who, unfortunately, are often at risk of falling for scams or fraud.
“HSI is thankful for the collaboration in this investigation with other Department of Homeland Security components, as well as other federal agencies, who continue to help us combat document and benefit fraud.”
For more details, read the complete filing on the DOJ website here.
Watch a news report about the fraud committed by the Amankwaa’s here.
New-York based Ghanaian immigration lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, faces 15 years in jail for duping thousands of innocent immigrants with the promise of securing a green card for them.
Kofi Amankwaa didn’t operate his fraudulent schemes alone; he was assisted by his son, Kofi Amankwaa… pic.twitter.com/rj5HhXOnn5
— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) February 1, 2024
Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com
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