A US court has reissued an arrest warrant for Allen Onyema, founder and CEO of Air Peace Limited, over a $20 million bank fraud case that has been pending against him for five years.
The US District Court of Northern Georgia, Atlanta, renewed the arrest warrant on October 9, following the addition of more charges to the case against Onyema and his co-defendant, Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline's head of administration and finance.
US authorities filed the superseding indictment on October 8, alleging new charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The two charges were in addition to 36 pre-existing charges of conspiracy, money laundering, bank fraud, credit application fraud and identity theft. The superseding indictment raised the charges to 38.
On the day the superseding indictment was filed, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Huber requested a new arrest warrant following the first one issued for Onyema in 2019.
The next day, October 9, a deputy clerk of court signed and delivered the new arrest warrant to the U.S. Marshal, the U.S. agency that carries out the arrest of fugitives.
Previous arrest warrants
It will be recalled that, prior to the filing of the charges in 2019, Russell Vineyard, Magistrate of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, issued the corresponding arrest warrant for Messrs. Onyema and Eghagha in Canada.
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U.S. prosecutors had sought the order to allow Canadian law enforcement authorities to detain the suspects if they were sighted in their jurisdiction.
In another arrest warrant issued on November 19, 2019, Justin Anand, a US magistrate of the same court, ordered the US Marshals Service to take them into custody.
Accusations
In charges pending since 2019, US authorities accused Onyema of moving suspicious funds from Nigeria to US bank accounts between 2017 and 2018, with the funds allegedly disguised to be used to purchase aircraft.
Mr. Onyema and his co-defendant, Mr. Eghagha, allegedly organized the fraud by requesting export letters of credit for the transfer of funds from a Nigerian bank account to the bank account of Mr. Onyema's company based in Atlanta, Georgia. , Springfield Aviation LLC. between 2016 and 2017.
The defendants, according to US prosecutors, allegedly solicited funds for Air Peace's purchase of aircraft from Springfield Aviation.
Both Air Peace, a major Nigerian commercial airline, and US-based Springfield Aviation are owned by Mr Onyema.
Prosecutors also said the plane referenced in each of the export letters of credit sent to U.S. banks was never owned or sold by Springfield Aviation.
They said the defendants made false statements and reports and deliberately overvalued properties to influence the actions of U.S. banks.
Mr. Eghagha is said to have sent the false documents, including fabricated purchase agreements, sales invoices and valuation documents, to Ebony Mayfield to sign and present to the respective banks in support of the letters of credit.
Onyema had hired Mayfield, who at various times was a waitress, restaurant waitress and nightclub dancer, in 2016 to act as manager of Springfield Aviation and enter into contracts on behalf of the company.
Prosecutors said she “had no connection to the aviation business outside of her role at Springfield Aviation and was not educated, trained or licensed in the inspection and appraisal of aircraft, including aircraft components.”
In October 2022, the United States District Court sentenced Mayfield to three years of probation for his role in helping facilitate the alleged fraud.
Prosecutors continue to allege that Onyema founded and used Springfield Aviation “to facilitate large transfers of funds from his Nigerian bank accounts to the United States.”
Onyema allegedly moved about $15 million from Springfield Aviation's account at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Atlanta, Georgia, to his personal savings account at the same bank in 27 transactions in 2017.
Each of the 27 transactions alone constitutes a charge of money laundering.
In May 2019, upon discovering that he was being investigated in the Northern District of Georgia for bank fraud, Messrs. Onyema and Eghagha allegedly ordered Springfield Aviation manager Ms. Mayfield to sign a key business contract, but also told her They specifically said not to date anyone. the document.
In October 2019, Onyema allegedly had his lawyers present that same contract, now falsely dated as having been signed on May 5, 2016 (before the bank fraud that began in 2016), to the government in an effort to stop the investigation and unfreeze his bank accounts.
The submission of the alleged false documents forms the basis for the new charge of obstruction of justice and a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice in the superseded charges.
Replacement positions
The US government added two counts to the charges in a superseding indictment last month.
Announcing the superseding indictment in a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia charged Mr. Onyema and his co-defendant with “obstruction of justice for submitting false documents to the government in an effort to end an investigation into him that resulted on previous charges of bank fraud and money laundering.”
Prosecutors said Onyema submitted false documents to U.S. authorities in 2019 in an effort to stop the investigation and unfreeze his bank accounts in connection with the alleged $20 million bank fraud.
Mr Eghagha, the airline's head of administration and finance, accused of involvement in the alleged obstruction scheme as well as previous bank fraud charges, is Mr Onyema's co-accused in the case.
“After allegedly using his airline company as a cover to commit fraud in the United States banking system, Onyema, along with his co-defendant, allegedly committed additional fraud offenses in an unsuccessful attempt to derail the government's investigation into his conduct.” the statement cited U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.
Additionally, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lisa Fontanette, Internal Revenue Service – Atlanta Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said: “Onyema and his co-conspirators allegedly fraudulently used the U.S. banking system in an effort to conceal the source of their money. ill-gotten.”
Denial
Air Peace and Mr. Onyea's lawyers have consistently maintained his innocence.
Reacting to the filing of the superseding indictment last month, Air Peace said in a statement that “both Mr. Onyema and Eghagha remain innocent and these are mere allegations, and the case is still before the courts.”
He added: “Our legal team is fully committed to the matter and is working tirelessly to ensure that justice prevails. “We remain confident that through due process, the truth will be revealed and our CEO and co-defendant will be exonerated.”
The airline argued that Onyema and his legal team have consistently cooperated with the authorities throughout the legal process and that Air Peace continues to operate without interruption, maintaining its commitment to providing top-notch services to its valued customers.
“We want to assure the public that these legal proceedings will not affect the safety, reliability or daily operations of Air Peace. “The dedication and focus of our staff remains steadfast as we continue to provide you with the best aviation experience in Nigeria and beyond,” the airline said.