As reported within the New York Occasions just lately, a Bronx-based lawyer named Kofi Amankwaa, aged 69, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., aged 37, have been apprehended and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scam that defrauded hundreds of immigrants, leading to some being deported, as revealed by federal prosecutors.
The scheme concerned advising purchasers in search of inexperienced playing cards to submit petitions below the Violence Towards Girls Act (VAWA), a tactic to assist undocumented immigrants who’ve suffered abuse attain lawful everlasting residence in america. Prosecutors allege that the Amankwaas instructed their purchasers to falsely declare abuse by their American citizen kids. These fabricated claims of abuse have been then used as grounds to request permission for purchasers to journey overseas, which, when granted, facilitated their inexperienced card functions. These startling particulars have been unveiled in a criticism filed by Damian Williams, the U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York, who introduced forth the fees.
In response to the U.S. lawyer, the Amankwaas both knew their purchasers had not been victims of abuse or didn’t inquire about it. Consequently, most of the functions for authorized residency have been discovered to be fraudulent and subsequently denied, ensuing within the deportation of some purchasers. The Amankwaas charged charges as excessive as $6,000, along with administrative expenses, for his or her companies.
Every of the accused people now faces one depend of conspiracy to defraud america, which carries a most jail sentence of 5 years, and one depend of immigration fraud, which carries a most jail sentence of ten years. Each people pleaded not responsible and remained silent throughout their arraignment on Monday, attended by at the least two different members of the family. Lauren Di Chiara, a lawyer representing the elder Mr. Amankwaa, declined to remark.
Mr. Williams underscored that the Amankwaas sought to undermine the U.S. immigration system via their actions, and this investigation was carried out in collaboration with the Division of Homeland Safety.
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Along with the felony expenses, New York Legal professional Common Letitia James has filed a lawsuit towards the Amankwaas and three different members of their observe: Sylvester Boateng, Nana Adoma Kontoh, and Betty Smith, all implicated within the immigration fraud. Ms. Kontoh, as per the lawsuit, falsely claimed to be a lawyer.
Legal professional Common James seeks full restitution and unspecified damages to be awarded to affected purchasers, along with civil penalties.
This case is the newest in a collection of fraud schemes focusing on people in search of lawful citizenship in New York, as beforehand reported by The New York Occasions. On January 11, Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin L. Bragg pressed expenses towards Pablo Israel Ortega Cuenca for impersonating an immigration lawyer and amassing substantial authorized charges.
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Notably, Mr. Amankwaa had held a license to observe regulation in New York since 1996, however his license was suspended in November following a number of complaints filed with the state Legal professional Grievance Committee, which handles studies of lawyer misconduct. These complaints, filed between October 2022 and Might 2023, got here from purchasers or their members of the family, as per committee data. The youthful Mr. Amankwaa offered authorized recommendation to purchasers regardless of not being licensed to observe regulation in New York, prosecutors allege.
Considered one of Mr. Amankwaa’s purchasers, Ricardo Velazquez, a father of 4 residing within the Bronx, had been in america for over twenty years. Mr. Amankwaa submitted paperwork claiming that Mr. Velazquez had suffered abuse by the hands of his son and suggested him to go away the nation and re-enter to proceed his inexperienced card utility. Upon making an attempt to return from Mexico, Mr. Velazquez was detained and in the end deported.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration regulation at Cornell Legislation College, famous that the usage of the Violence Towards Girls Act in immigration fraud was unusual however troublesome to detect since victims usually fail to acknowledge or report such scams. He suggested people to train warning and skepticism when confronted with guarantees of assured immigration advantages, as they usually sign fraudulent exercise.
Catalina Cruz, a state assemblywoman who was as soon as undocumented, condemned the Amankwaas’ actions as “unethical and unconscionable.” She asserted that these households had sought the American dream and entrusted Mr. Amankwaa as their lawyer, solely to endure separation from their family members attributable to his actions.
