As an immigration attorney, I meet with many persons desperate to obtain some form of legal status here. I warn persons seeking my advice not to listen to notarios, people who pass themselves off as immigration consultants but who scam immigrants by promising all kinds of benefits. I expect nothing more from those scum.
It’s when I read about an attorney who has engaged in fraud that I really become angry. Now disbarred, Kofi Amankwaa and his son engaged in a massive fraud scheme, using a law to protect victims of abuse. Charging persons $6,000 each, he created fraudulent applications and now must pay over $16 million in restitution to the victims.
The law is a noble profession, and as a lawyer I took an oath to do justice. Attorneys who violate their pledge besmirch the profession and destroy the public’s trust in the law itself. Scripture condemns those who take bribes and defraud people. Such fraud is not just financial; it leaves a trail of broken hopes and dreams.
Prayer for the Day
You call us to do justice, O God, justice in your name,
But there are those who pervert justice out of greed;
You condemn those who take bribes and commit fraud,
But the love of money turns dreams into tears.
Protect us, O Lord, from those whose greed destroys lives,
For they care not for the victims of their crimes.
In the name of the One who calls us to righteousness,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The glory of justice and the majesty of law are created not just by the Constitution – nor by the courts – nor by the officers of the law – nor by the lawyers – but by the men and women who constitute our society -- who are the protectors of the law as they are protected by the law.
Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General, politician, lawyer (1925-1968)
If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us.
Francis Bacon, scientist, essayist (1561-1626)
When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous, but dismay to the evildoers.
Proverbs 21:15