Kofi Amankwaa
New York Attorney General, Letitia James, has filed a lawsuit against Kofi Amankwaa, a Bronx immigration lawyer, and others in his office, namely Sylvester Boateng, Nana Adoma Kontoh, Betty Smith, and Kofi Amankwaa Jr., for running an illegal scheme that scammed hundreds of vulnerable immigrants.
The migrants were tricked into paying thousands of dollars for fraudulent services that caused many to be deported or have their green card applications denied.
According to the suit, from 2018 through 2023, Amankwaa and the other defendants charged immigrant clients thousands of dollars to submit paperwork on their behalf to secure green cards for their clients.
“Unbeknownst to their clients, Amankwaa and the other defendants were also illegally submitting separate petitions falsely claiming that their children were abusing them. These petitions were filed under the Violence Against Women Act, which allows victims of abuse by a US-born child over 21 years old to seek lawful permanent residency. As a result of their illegal actions, several of their clients were deported while others were denied their green cards.
“With this lawsuit, Attorney General James is seeking an order to immediately halt Amankwaa and the defendants’ illegal scheme, and force them to pay restitution and damages to the affected customers, in addition to civil penalties to the state,” it said.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a parallel criminal action, charging and arresting Mr. Amankwaa and Kofi Amankwaa Jr. for carrying out a large-scale immigration fraud scheme.
“People who immigrate to America are often vulnerable and simply trying to build better lives for themselves and their loved ones,” said Attorney General James. “When these immigrants sought help from attorneys claiming to act in their best interests, they were taken advantage of and harmed instead.
“This cruel and illegal scheme led to them being separated from their families and deported. I thank Assembly member Cruz for bringing this issue to light and for her tireless work to protect our most vulnerable communities. I will not tolerate fraudsters who prey on the vulnerable and take advantage of people asking for help,” she added.
An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) revealed that Amankwaa and the others working in his office knowingly and repeatedly filed false petitions on behalf of their clients.
These petitions identified each client as the parent of an abusive United States citizen, which would allow the client to petition for a green card.
However, Amankwaa and the others did not inform their clients that they were doing this and refused to provide them with copies of the filed documents. As a result, clients were unaware that attorneys were falsely accusing their own children of abuse in their name. Amankwaa also falsely told clients they would be able to safely leave and return to the United States, and instructed his clients to lie on their petition submissions and to immigration officials about being abused, though none of them ultimately did.
In November 2023, Amankwaa’s law license was suspended after he failed to respond to nine separate complaints alleging he submitted fraudulent immigration filings on behalf of his clients.
In addition, Kontoh, falsely represented that she was an attorney while acting as an immigrant assistance service provider, unlawfully providing legal advice and misleading her immigrant clients.
She unlawfully encouraged her clients to lie to immigration officials, failed to provide her clients with written contracts or copies of documents filed with the government, and failed to post signs informing clients that she was not an attorney.
The lawsuit also alleges that Amankwaa Jr. also violated the law by providing legal advice, even though he is not admitted to practice law in New York.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General James is alleging Amankwaa and the others working in his office exhibited a pattern of repeated and persistent fraudulent and illegal conduct in violation of Executive Law 63(12), New York General Business Law, and Judiciary Law.
Attorney General James is seeking an order to prevent Amankwaa and his colleagues from continuing their illegal scheme and make a full accounting of each transaction with their clients in order to pay full restitution and damages to their customers, in addition to paying civil penalties to the state.
A Daily Guide Report