Airpeace reacts to fresh US charges against founder Onyema

US authorities accused Mr Onyema of moving suspicious funds from Nigeria to American bank accounts between 2017 and 2018 with the funds allegedly disguised as being meant to be used to purchase aircraft.

The management of Air Peace Limited, Nigeria’s largest airline company, on Sunday, said the ongoing legal proceedings against its founder, Allen Onyema, and Chief of Finance and Administration, Ejiro Eghagha, will not affect the safety, reliability, and daily operations of the airline.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the United States government has added more charges to the $20 million bank fraud case against Mr Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace, as the Nigerian businessman continues to elude trial in an American court.

Although Mr Onyema has denied wrongdoing, he is wanted in the US over the bank fraud charges filed against him and a co-defendant at the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, in Atlanta since 2019.

However, things got worse for the Air Peace officials last week.

“On 8 October 2024, they were both charged in a superseding indictment alleging an additional count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice,” the US Attorney Office, Northern District of Georgia, said in a statement on Friday.

The office said Mr Onyema is accused of “obstruction of justice for submitting false documents to the government in an effort to end an investigation of him that resulted in earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering.”

Prosecutors said he submitted false documents to US authorities in 2019 in an effort to stop the investigation and unfreeze his bank accounts regarding the alleged $20 million bank fraud.

Ejiroghene Eghagha, accused of participating in the alleged obstruction scheme, as well as in the earlier bank fraud counts, is Mr Onyema’s co-defendant in the case.

“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,” the statement quoted US Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.

Air Peace reacts

In a statement issued by the airline and posted on its official X page on Sunday, Air Peace said it understands that the ongoing legal proceedings may have raised concerns.

“These charges levelled against our post-holders are part of an extended legal process stemming from earlier accusations of financial misdeeds that date back several years,” the statement said.

It noted that while the charges have been expanded, it is essential to emphasise that “both Mr Onyema and Eghagha remain innocent and these are mere allegations, and the case is still in court.”

It added that: “Our legal team is fully engaged with 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 Mr Onyema and his legal team have consistently cooperated with authorities throughout the legal process and that Air Peace continues to operate without disruption, upholding its commitment to delivering top-notch services to its valued customers.

“We want to reassure the public that these legal proceedings will not impact the safety, reliability, or day-to-day operations of Air Peace. The dedication and focus of our staff remain steadfast as we continue to provide you with the best aviation experience in Nigeria and beyond,” the airline said.

Onyema’s Travails

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Onyema remains wanted in the United States after an alleged conspirator in the $20 million bank fraud case was sentenced by an American court in September 2022.

In the decision, the US District Court sentenced Ebony Mayfield, an American woman, to three years’ probation for her role in helping to facilitate the alleged fraud.

She escaped the prison sentence because she pleaded guilty early before her trial began.

Her lawyer also anchored her plea for a probated sentence on the grounds that she was remorseful and cooperated with the government during investigations.

They also said she benefitted little from the alleged fraud, with Ms Mayfield confessing that she received only a total of $20,000 for her roles in the alleged conspiracy between 2016 to 2018.

CEO, co-defendant on the run

While Ms Mayfield was battling with her trial, Messrs Onyema and Eghagha were allegedly on the run from the charges and arrest warrants.

The US government named Messrs Onyema and Eghagha in the 36 charges of conspiracy, money laundering, bank fraud, credit application fraud, and identity theft filed against them on 19 November 2019.

American authorities obtained court warrants for the arrest of the two men in the US and Canada, where part of the suspected proceeds of fraud were said to have been moved.

Earlier, before the charges were filed, Russell Vineyard, a magistrate at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, on 5 September 2019, issued a corresponding warrant of arrest for Messrs Onyema and Eghagha in Canada.

In another arrest warrant issued on 19 November 2019, Justin Anand, an American magistrate of the same court, ordered the US Marshals Service to take them into custody.

Both men have succeeded in evading arrest by American or Canadian authorities since then.

However, US authorities arrested Ms Mayfield on 7 June 2019.

In December 2019, they charged her with signing and submitting fake documents to help Mr Onyema facilitate the $20 million fraud between May 2016 and February 2018. Subsequently, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced in September 2022.

‘Superseding’ indictment

The US government has now filed a superseding indictment in the nearly five years old case, introducing two additional counts, bringing to 38 the total number of counts now pending against Mr Onyema and his co-defendant.

US authorities accused Mr Onyema of moving suspicious funds from Nigeria to American bank accounts between 2017 and 2018, with the funds allegedly disguised as being meant to purchase aircraft.

Mr Onyema and his co-defendant, Mr Eghagha, allegedly organised the fraud by applying for export letters of credit to transfer funds from a Nigerian bank account to the bank account of Mr Onyema’s Atlanta-Georgia-based firm, Springfield Aviation LLC, between 2016 and 2017.

According to US prosecutors, the defendants applied for the funds purportedly to purchase aircraft by Air Peace from Springfield Aviation.

Mr Onyema owns both Air Peace, a major Nigerian commercial airline, and Springfield Aviation, a US-based company.

Prosecutors also said the aircraft referenced in each of the export letters of credit sent to the American banks was never owned or sold by Springfield Aviation.

They said the defendants made false statements and reports, and willfully overvalued property to influence the actions of the American banks.

Mr Eghagha was said to have sent the false documents, including fabricated purchase agreements, bills of sale, and valuation documents, to Ms Mayfield to sign and submit to the respective banks in support of the letters of credit.

Mr Onyema had engaged Ms Mayfield, who was at various times, a bartender, restaurant waitress, and nightclub dancer, in 2016, to act as a manager of Springfield Aviation, and enter into contracts on the firm’s behalf.

Prosecutors said she “had no connection to the aviation business outside of her role with Springfield Aviation and had no education, training, or licensing in the review and valuation of aircraft, including aircraft components.”

They alleged that Mr Onyema founded and used Springfield Aviation “to facilitate large transfers of funds from his Nigerian bank accounts to the United States.”

Mr Onyema allegedly moved about $15 million from Springfield Aviation’s account with a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Atlanta, Georgia, to his personal savings account with the same bank in 27 transactions in 2017.

Each of the 27 transactions stands alone as a charge of money laundering.

In May 2019, upon discovering that he was under investigation in the Northern District of Georgia for bank fraud, Messrs Onyema and Eghagha allegedly directed the Springfield Aviation manager, Ms Mayfield, to sign a key business contract, but also specifically told her to not date the document.

In October 2019, Mr Onyema allegedly caused his attorneys to present that same contract, now falsely dated as being signed on 5 May 2016 (prior to 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 count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice in the superseding charges.

“Allegedly, Onyema and his accomplices fraudulently used the U.S. banking system in an effort to hide the source of their ill-gotten money,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lisa Fontanette, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Atlanta Field Office, on Friday.