A Ghanaian immigration lawyer based in New York, Kofi Amankwaa, is now at the center of a legal storm facing allegations of defrauding thousands of Ghanaians living in America seeking green cards.

The charges involve causing financial loss to the American state, orchestrating deportations for some immigrants, and denying green card applications through an illegal scheme, with hundreds falling victim.

According to reports from the New York Post, Amankwaa, along with his associates, including his son Kofi Amankwaa Jnr, Sylvester Boateng, Nana Adoma Kontoh, and Betty Smith, is accused of charging immigrants $6000 each, promising to secure green cards for them.

The illegal scheme is also alleged to exploit the Violence Against Women Act by falsely instructing clients to claim they are victims of domestic abuse, facilitating their bid for legal residency in the U.S. In some instances, Amankwaa is said to have asked clients to falsely report abuse of their children to expedite immigration applications.

The New York State Attorney, Letitia James, is seeking a maximum 15-year jail term for the accused, emphasizing that Amankwaa and his associates ran an illegal scheme that scammed hundreds of vulnerable immigrants. James stated, "When these immigrants sought help from attorneys claiming to act in their interests, they were taken advantage of and harmed instead. This cruel and illegal scheme led to them being separated from their families and deported."

Amankwaa and his son were arraigned before the federal court on January 22, charged with conspiracy to commit immigration fraud and committing immigration fraud. Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, remarked that the father and son team "sought to make a mockery of the US immigration system" and allegedly exploited the Violence Against Women Act for financial gain.

New York lawmaker Catalina Cruz Esq, who reported the case, stated that Amankwa’s scheme resulted in the deportation of families and denied them the American dream. In the lawsuit, the State Attorney seeks to halt the defendants' illegal activities, along with restitution and damages for affected persons, and civil penalties to the state.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has also filed a parallel criminal action against Mr. Amankwaa and his son, charging them with a large-scale immigration fraud scheme.