The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has filed new charges against Allen Onyema, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace.
Ejiroghene Eghagha, Chief of Administration and Finance, was also accused of allegedly obstructing justice in an ongoing investigation.
The superseding indictment accuses the duo of submitting false documents to thwart the investigation into their activities, which have been under scrutiny since 2019 for alleged money laundering.
Onyema is accused of using fraudulent documents to move over $20 million from Nigeria through U.S. bank accounts, purportedly for purchasing airplanes.
Eghagha faces additional charges of aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.
U.S. Attorney, Ryan Buchanan stated that Onyema and Eghagha allegedly attempted to obstruct justice by committing additional fraudulent acts aimed at disrupting the investigation.
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“Onyema, using his airline company as a cover, allegedly defrauded the U.S. banking system and later, along with his co-defendant, committed further crimes in a failed attempt to derail the government’s probe into his conduct,” Buchanan said.
The investigation revealed that from May 2016, Onyema and Eghagha employed export letters of credit to transfer over $20 million into Atlanta-based accounts controlled by Onyema.
The documents supporting these transactions, including purchase agreements, bills of sale, and appraisals, were allegedly fake.
The planes were supposedly acquired from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a Georgia-registered business owned by Onyema. However, Springfield Aviation never owned the aircraft, and the company was managed by a person with no ties to the aviation industry.
Onyema and Eghagha were initially indicted on November 19, 2019, on charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.
The new superseding indictment adds charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice ¹.
