A Ghanaian lawyer based in the Bronx in New York City, USA, Kofi Amankwaa, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay back over $29m he fraudulently obtained from victims.
Kofi Amankwaa was accused of filing fraudulent applications for thousands of clients that not only misrepresented their immigration status but was designed to trick the system. He charged thousands of dollars for his services from each client while knowing his fraudulent acts made their chances of securing their visas quite low.
After receiving several complaints, authorities in New York’s Southern District Attorney’s Office commenced investigations into Amankwaa. He was arrested and pleaded guilty in September last year. Amankwaa was sentenced earlier this week.
Aside from his 70 month jail term, the 70 year old Ghanaian has agreed to forfeit $13,389,000 of his illegal earnings as well as to pay restitution of $16,503,425 to his victims.
According to authorities, the Ghanaian carried out his scam by getting them to sign a fraudulent form, I-360, which is a special sort of visa for victims of domestic abuse.
