By Abiola Olawale, Hamilton Nwosa with additional report from The New Diplomat’s North America Office
Lingering reputational issues bordering on charges of money laundering, fraud and identity theft challenges confronting founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, have intensified as he faces fresh allegations of obstructing justice slammed against him by the United States government.
This latest charges stems from an alleged submission of false documents, which the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, United States said was aimed at halting a federal investigation against Allen Onyema, CEO of Airpeace and one Ejiroghene Eghagha.
The United States Attorney General’s Office, Northern District of Georgia in a statement posted on its website on Friday, October 11, 2024, said “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 added: “ The diligence of our federal investigative partners revealed the defendants alleged obstruction scheme, making it possible for the defendants to be held accountable for their aggravated conduct of attempting to impeded federal investigation.”
The New Diplomat in a report in 2019 https://newdiplomatng.com/inside-details-why-u-s-charged-air-peace-ceo-onyema-for-bank-fraud/ had reported that Onyema and Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, were both charged before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia over allegations of bank fraud and money laundering.
In this new charge sheet sighted by the New Diplomat, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced that Onyema has been charged with allegations of obstructing justice.
The fresh charge sheet stated that following the initial alleged bank fraud and money laundering charges, Onyema and Eghagha allegedly attempted to obstruct the investigation by directing an individual managing Springfield Aviation to sign a backdated contract.
Onyema’s attorneys were said to have submitted the alleged backdated contract to U.S. authorities to halt the investigation and unfreeze his bank accounts, which led to additional charges of obstruction of justice.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan stated that Onyema allegedly used his airline as a front for fraud and later attempted to derail the investigation. He highlighted that federal investigators’ diligence helped expose the obstruction scheme, holding the defendants accountable.
Buchanan stated: “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 diligence of our federal investigative partners revealed the defendants’ alleged obstruction scheme, making it possible for the defendants to be held accountable for their aggravated conduct of attempting to impede a federal investigation.”
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division, highlighted that these cases demonstrate the Drug Enforcement Administration’s commitment to identifying and holding accountable those involved in fraud and money laundering.
It would be recalled that in a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia on Friday, November 22, 2019, it was reported that Onyema, CEO of Air Peace, had been charged with bank fraud and money laundering.
The New Diplomat had reported that Onyema was alleged to have transferred over $20 million through U.S. bank accounts allegedly using falsified documents regarding aeroplane purchases. Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace’s Chief of Administration, was also charged with fraud and aggravated identity theft.
U.S. authorities had stated that Onyema used his airline and nonprofit organizations to facilitate the fraudulent scheme, moving over $44.9 million between 2010 and 2018. The investigation had further revealed that supporting documents for the transactions were allegedly falsified, and Onyema allegedly laundered over $16 million.
Onyema and Ejiroghene Eghagha were allegedly indicted on November 19, 2019, on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit credit application fraud, and three counts of credit application fraud.
Additionally, Onyema was charged with 27 counts of money laundering, and Eghagha was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft. On October 8, 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 case is criminal action number 1:19-CR-464.
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