A Bronx lawyer and his son were arrested on Monday and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scheme that defrauded hundreds of immigrants and caused some of them to be deported, federal prosecutors said.
The lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, 69, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., 37, advised clients seeking green cards to sign petitions under the Violence Against Women Act, which enables undocumented immigrants who are victims of abuse to gain lawful permanent residence in the United States, prosecutors said.
The petitions falsely claimed that the clients were being abused by their children, who were American citizens.
The applications for legal residency were often found to be fraudulent and denied, and some of the Amankwaas’ clients were deported.
Their services cost as much as $6,000, plus administrative fees, the complaint said.
Persons:
Kofi Amankwaa, Kofi Amankwaa Jr, Damian Williams
Organizations:
U.S, Southern, of
Locations:
United States, of New York, U.S