Bronx legal office under fire for deceptive immigration services

January 23, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

NYS Attorney General Letitia James, seen here, announced a lawsuit against Bronx immigration lawyer Kofi Amankwaa and his colleagues.
Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP

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Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit on Monday against Bronx immigration lawyer Kofi Amankwaa and his colleagues for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that preyed on hundreds of immigrants.

The lawsuit alleges that from 2018 to 2023, Amankwaa, along with Sylvester Boateng, Nana Adoma Kontoh, Betty Smith, and Kofi Amankwaa, Jr., deceitfully charged immigrants thousands of dollars for services that ultimately led to deportations and green card denials.

The group is accused of filing false petitions under the Violence Against Women Act, falsely claiming their clients’ children were abusing them, without the clients’ knowledge. This illegal action resulted in severe consequences, including deportations and denial of lawful permanent residency applications.

The New York Attorney General’s Office is now seeking immediate cessation of these illegal activities, restitution for affected individuals and civil penalties.

Parallel to this civil action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has filed criminal charges against Amankwaa and Kofi Amankwaa Jr.

“People who immigrate to America are often vulnerable and simply trying to build better lives for themselves and their loved ones,” said Attorney General Letitia 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.”

The investigation uncovered multiple instances of misconduct. In one case, Ricardo Velazquez, a Bronx father, was deported after being misled by Amankwaa to leave the U.S. and then re-enter. Another client was instructed to falsely claim abuse by her daughter, which led to the denial of her residency application and initiation of deportation proceedings.

Furthermore, Kontoh, who is not an attorney, misrepresented herself, providing unlawful legal advice and encouraging clients to lie to immigration authorities. Amankwaa Jr. is also accused of illegally providing legal advice without being admitted to practice law in New York.

Amankwaa and his son also appeared before SDNY Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn on Monday. U.S. Attorney for the SDNY Damian Williams and Michael Alfonso, acting special agent in charge of HSI’s Newark Field Office, announced charges that assert that Amankwaa and his son exploited the Violence Against Women Act for financial gain by falsely claiming their clients were victims of domestic abuse, a deceitful act that tarnished the U.S. immigration system’s integrity.

According to the complaint in the SDNY, from September 2016 to November 2023, the defendants met with clients and directed them to sign fraudulent petitions under penalty of perjury, falsely stating they were abused by their U.S. citizen children.

The scheme involved using advance parole travel documents based on these fraudulent petitions, enabling their clients to travel and re-enter the U.S. and subsequently apply for lawful permanent resident status. However, many of these applications were denied due to fraud, among other reasons, with the defendants typically charging $6,000 plus administrative fees for their services.

In November 2023, following numerous client complaints, Amankwaa’s law license was suspended. Both Kofi Amankwaa and Kofi Amankwaa Jr. face charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit immigration fraud, each carrying a maximum sentence of five years, and immigration fraud, with a maximum sentence of 10 years.