Fresh Trouble Hits Air Peace Boss
There appears no end in sight for the trouble rocking Allen Onyeama, the Founder and CEO of Nigeria’s commercial airline, Air Peace. Authorities in the United States filed a superseding indictment against him on 8 October 2024.
Judging by this development, a US court has practically added new counts of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice to the case against the Air Peace CEO. It is seeking a new warrant to arrest him over an alleged $20 million bank fraud case pending against him for five years.
The federal district court for Northern Georgia, Atlanta, renewed the arrest warrant on 9 October, following the addition of more charges to the case against Onyema and his co-defendant – Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance.
The two counts added to the 36 conspiracy, money laundering, bank fraud, credit application fraud, and identity theft charges levelled against the Air Peace boss, even as the superseding indictment brought the counts to 38.
On the day the superseding indictment was filed, Assistant US Attorney Christopher Huber filed for a new arrest warrant after the first one was issued against Mr Onyema in 2019.
It was also reported that the next day, 9 October, a deputy clerk of the court signed and delivered the new arrest warrant to the US Marshal. This American body arrests fugitives.
Recall that before filing the charges in 2019, Russell Vineyard, a magistrate at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, issued a corresponding arrest warrant for Onyema and Eghagha in Canada.
American prosecutors reportedly sought the warrant to enable Canadian law enforcement authorities to take the suspects into custody if sighted in their jurisdiction.
Justin Anand, an American magistrate of the same court, ordered the US Marshals Service to take the co-defendants into custody in another arrest warrant issued on 19 November 2019.
These charges against Onyema have been ongoing since 2019, following accusations against him over the suspicious movement of 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.
Mr Onyema and his co-defendant, Mr Eghagha, allegedly organised the fraud by applying for export letters of credit for the transfer of funds from a Nigerian bank account to the bank account of Onyema’s Atlanta-Georgia-based firm, Springfield Aviation LLC, between 2016 and 2017.
According to US prosecutors, the defendants purportedly applied for the funds to purchase aircraft from Springfield Aviation using Air Peace.
Air Peace, a prominent Nigerian commercial airline, and the US-based Springfield Aviation are owned by Onyema.
According to the prosecutors, Springfield Aviation never owned or sold the aircraft referenced in each of the export letters of credit sent to the American banks.
They accused the defendants of making false statements and reports and added that they willfully overvalued property to influence the actions of American banks.
Prosecutors also posited that Eghagha allegedly sent the false documents, including fabricated purchase agreements, bills of sale, and valuation documents, to Ebony Mayfield to sign and submit to the respective banks supporting the letters of credit.
Mr Onyema had allegedly hired Ms Mayfield, who was, at various times, a bartender, restaurant waitress, and nightclub dancer, in 2016 to manage 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.”
