A United States court has reissued an arrest warrant against the chairman/CEO of Air Peace Limited Allen Onyema in connection with a $20 million bank fraud case that has been under investigation for five years.
On October 9, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta, renewed the warrant following new charges against Mr. Onyema and his co-defendant, Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace’s chief of administration and finance.
The updated indictment filed a day earlier adds two counts of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice to the original 36 counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, bank fraud, credit application fraud, and identity theft, bringing the total to 38, reports Premium Times.
The renewed warrant follows an initial arrest warrant issued in 2019 after prosecutors alleged that Onyema and Eghagha orchestrated a scheme to transfer funds from Nigeria to US bank accounts, claiming they were intended for purchasing aircraft.
Prosecutors alleged that between 2016 and 2017, funds were funnelled from Nigerian bank accounts to Springfield Aviation, an Atlanta-based company owned by Onyema.
However, prosecutors argue that Springfield Aviation did not own or sell the aircraft listed in the export letters of credit.
Eghagha allegedly provided false documents to US banks, and Ms. Ebony Mayfield, employed by Onyema as Springfield Aviation’s manager, signed these documents.
Prosecutors stated that Mayfield lacked experience in aviation and aircraft valuation, and she was sentenced to probation in 2022 for her role in the scheme.
According to the latest indictment, Onyema allegedly submitted falsified documents in 2019 to obstruct the investigation.
Prosecutors claim that a key business contract was backdated to support a defence against bank fraud charges, leading to the new charges of obstruction.
The US government, represented by Attorney Ryan Buchanan, insisted that Onyema and Eghagha used fraudulent documents to obstruct the investigation.
“After allegedly using his airline company as a cover to commit fraud on the United States’ banking system, Onyema, along with his co-defendant, allegedly committed additional crimes of fraud in a failed attempt to derail the government’s investigation of his conduct,” Buchanan said in a statement.
In response, Air Peace has reiterated Onyema’s innocence, describing the charges as allegations.
The airline assured that it would continue operating without disruption, with its legal team actively engaged in defending the case.