{"id":14606,"date":"2024-01-25T14:52:05","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T14:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606"},"modified":"2024-01-25T14:52:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T14:52:05","slug":"deceitful-lawyer-and-son-detained-for-swindling-immigrants-in-the-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606","title":{"rendered":"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

A deceitful USA based Ghanaian lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., have been detained and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scheme that defrauded hundreds of immigrants, leading to some being deported<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The duo allegedly advised clients seeking green cards to submit petitions under the Violence against Women Act, falsely claiming abuse by their American citizen children.<\/p>\n

These claims were then used as a basis for requesting permission for clients to travel abroad, facilitating their green card applications.<\/p>\n

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, stated that the applications were often found fraudulent, resulting in denials and deportations.<\/p>\n

The Amankwaas face charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and immigration fraud, each carrying maximum sentences of five and ten years, respectively.<\/p>\n

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, has also filed a lawsuit seeking restitution and damages against the accused. New York.<\/p>\n

Mr. Amankwaa had been licensed to practice law in New York since 1996, but his licence was suspended in November after a state Attorney Grievance Committee, which handles reports of lawyer misconduct, received nine complaints from clients or their family members between October 2022 and May 2023, according to committee records. The younger Mr. Amankwaa provided legal advice to the clients even though he was not licensed to practice law in New York, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

One of Mr. Amankwaa\u2019s clients, Ricardo Velazquez, a father of four living in the Bronx, had been in the United States for more than 20 years. Mr. Amankwaa filed documents claiming that Mr. Velazquez had been abused by his son and advised Mr. Velazquez to leave the country and re-enter in order to continue his green card application. When Mr. Velazquez tried to return from Mexico, he was detained and eventually deported.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAWYER AMANKWA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School, said he had never heard of someone using the Violence Against Women Act to conduct immigration fraud. But such fraud can be hard to root out, he added, because victims often don\u2019t recognize it or decide not to report it. \u201cIf it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,\u201d he said. \u201cIf someone says, \u2018I can guarantee you a green card if you just sign here,\u2019 that\u2019s a sure sign that something is funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catalina Cruz, a state assemblywoman who was once undocumented, described the Amankwaas\u2019 actions as \u201cunethical and unconscionable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese families simply wanted the American dream and trusted Mr. Amankwaa as their lawyer,\u201d she said. \u201cInstead, he committed the most depraved of violations, and his actions led to forced separation from their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: InsiderGH.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A deceitful USA based Ghanaian lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., have been detained and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scheme […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[3505],"class_list":["post-14606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","tag-deceitful-lawyer-detained-in-usa"],"yoast_head":"\nDeceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA - Express News Ghana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA - Express News Ghana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A deceitful USA based Ghanaian lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., have been detained and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scheme […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Express News Ghana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/nyaaba.felix.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-25T14:52:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"860\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"430\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FelixNyaaba3\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FelixNyaaba3\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b5e797531449c1dcb8747e970ceab0c\"},\"headline\":\"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-25T14:52:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606\"},\"wordCount\":460,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"deceitful lawyer detained in USA\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606\",\"name\":\"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA - Express News Ghana\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-25T14:52:05+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp\",\"width\":860,\"height\":430,\"caption\":\"LAWYER AMANKWA\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?p=14606#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Express News Ghana\",\"description\":\"Trust, Reliable & Timely\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"EXPRESSNEWSGHANA\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/EXPRESS-LOGO-2.jpg?fit=1080%2C617&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/EXPRESS-LOGO-2.jpg?fit=1080%2C617&ssl=1\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":617,\"caption\":\"EXPRESSNEWSGHANA\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/web.facebook.com\\\/nyaaba.felix.3\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/FelixNyaaba3\",\"https:\\\/\\\/studio.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC6BQ59pRrPXKInz_hRjM7kA\\\/editing\\\/images\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b5e797531449c1dcb8747e970ceab0c\",\"name\":\"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5318cf3f7526a76cada79c018d0b5ce26f9ec93477be26e7805e0fc3db8e20ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5318cf3f7526a76cada79c018d0b5ce26f9ec93477be26e7805e0fc3db8e20ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5318cf3f7526a76cada79c018d0b5ce26f9ec93477be26e7805e0fc3db8e20ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/expressnewsghana.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA - Express News Ghana","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA - Express News Ghana","og_description":"A deceitful USA based Ghanaian lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., have been detained and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scheme […]","og_url":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606","og_site_name":"Express News Ghana","article_publisher":"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/nyaaba.felix.3","article_published_time":"2024-01-25T14:52:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":860,"height":430,"url":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FelixNyaaba3","twitter_site":"@FelixNyaaba3","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606"},"author":{"name":"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b5e797531449c1dcb8747e970ceab0c"},"headline":"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA","datePublished":"2024-01-25T14:52:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606"},"wordCount":460,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp","keywords":["deceitful lawyer detained in USA"],"articleSection":["General News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606","url":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606","name":"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA - Express News Ghana","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp","datePublished":"2024-01-25T14:52:05+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Lawyer-Amankwah.webp","width":860,"height":430,"caption":"LAWYER AMANKWA"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=14606#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Deceitful Lawyer and Son Detained for Swindling Immigrants in the USA"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/","name":"Express News Ghana","description":"Trust, Reliable & Timely","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#organization","name":"EXPRESSNEWSGHANA","url":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/EXPRESS-LOGO-2.jpg?fit=1080%2C617&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expressnewsghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/EXPRESS-LOGO-2.jpg?fit=1080%2C617&ssl=1","width":1080,"height":617,"caption":"EXPRESSNEWSGHANA"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/nyaaba.felix.3","https:\/\/x.com\/FelixNyaaba3","https:\/\/studio.youtube.com\/channel\/UC6BQ59pRrPXKInz_hRjM7kA\/editing\/images"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b5e797531449c1dcb8747e970ceab0c","name":"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5318cf3f7526a76cada79c018d0b5ce26f9ec93477be26e7805e0fc3db8e20ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5318cf3f7526a76cada79c018d0b5ce26f9ec93477be26e7805e0fc3db8e20ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5318cf3f7526a76cada79c018d0b5ce26f9ec93477be26e7805e0fc3db8e20ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"For more information, please contact ExpressNewsGhana via email at expressnewsgh@gmail.com or WhatsApp at +233 0543 900 732"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com"],"url":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?author=1"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14608,"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14606\/revisions\/14608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}