Matthew Podolsky, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has announced that Kofi Amankwaa, a former immigration attorney based in the Bronx, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison. The sentence follows Amankwaa's involvement in a scheme to file fraudulent immigration documents under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Amankwaa pleaded guilty on September 17, 2024, and U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla imposed the sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky stated: "Kofi Amankwaa, a former immigration attorney, made a mockery of the U.S. immigration system and VAWA—a law that provides noncitizen victims of domestic abuse a path to lawful permanent residence status—by filing thousands of immigration documents falsely alleging that his clients were victims of abuse by their children or other family members." Podolsky further explained that Amankwaa filed these false applications without informing his clients and profited significantly from each victimized client.
The case details reveal that from September 2016 through November 2023, Amankwaa directed clients to sign fraudulent Form I-360 VAWA Petitions claiming abuse by their U.S. citizen children. He also signed these petitions under penalty of perjury as the attorney preparer. The fraudulent filings were used to request advance parole travel documents for clients who lacked legal status in the U.S., allowing them temporary international travel and re-entry into the country.
Amankwaa advised clients to use fraudulently obtained advance parole documents as a basis for applying for lawful permanent resident status. However, many applications were denied due to fraud allegations among other reasons. Clients typically paid between $3,000 and $6,000 for these services along with administrative fees.
Following numerous client complaints about fraudulent abuse claims, Amankwaa's law license was suspended in November 2023 and he was disbarred in August 2024.
In addition to his prison term, Amankwaa has been sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $13,389,000. As part of his plea agreement, he will pay $16,503,425 in restitution to victims. Those believing they are entitled to restitution may contact USANYS.VAWAFraud@usdoj.gov.
Mr. Podolsky praised the investigative efforts by Homeland Security Investigations' Newark Field Office and thanked the support from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Z. Margulies is leading the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Samantha Roberts.