New York, NY — Matthew Podolsky, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Kofi Amankwaa, a former Bronx-based immigration attorney, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for immigration fraud. This sentence follows his supervision of a multi-year scheme to file fraudulent immigration documents under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Amankwaa pled guilty on September 17, 2024, and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky stated:
“Kofi Amankwaa, a former immigration attorney, grossly exploited the U.S. immigration system and VAWA. He misused VAWA, a law designed to provide a path to lawful permanent residence status for noncitizen victims of domestic abuse, by filing thousands of fraudulent immigration documents. Amankwaa falsely alleged that his clients were victims of abuse by their children or other family members, all without their knowledge. He pocketed thousands of dollars from each client he victimized. Now, Amankwaa faces a significant prison sentence for his crimes.”
Details of the Scheme:
From September 2016 through November 2023, Amankwaa and his associates directed clients to sign fraudulent Form I-360 VAWA Petitions, falsely claiming abuse by their U.S. citizen children. Amankwaa himself signed these petitions under penalty of perjury.
He used the fraudulent VAWA petitions as a basis to request advance parole travel documents for his clients, allowing individuals without legal status to travel abroad temporarily and return. Upon obtaining these documents, Amankwaa directed his clients to travel abroad and return to the U.S., using the fraudulently obtained advance parole to apply for lawful permanent resident status.
Amankwaa carried out this scheme, aware that his clients had not been abused and often without inquiring about any abuse. His fraudulent actions frequently resulted in denied immigration applications due to fraud. He typically charged his clients between $3,000 and $6,000, plus administrative fees.
Following numerous client complaints, Amankwaa’s license to practice law in New York was suspended in November 2023 and he was disbarred in August 2024.
Sentencing:
In addition to his prison term, Amankwaa, 70, of South River, New Jersey, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $13,389,000. As part of his plea agreement, he has also agreed to pay $16,503,425 in restitution to his victims.
If you believe you or a family member is a victim of VAWA fraud and may be entitled to restitution from Amankwaa, please contact USANYS.VAWAFraud@usdoj.gov.
Acknowledgments:
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Newark Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations and thanked the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security for their support in this investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Z. Margulies leading the prosecution, supported by Paralegal Specialist Samantha Roberts.
Source: United States Attorney’s Office
Southern District of New York
