U.S. accuses Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema, for fraud

Allen Ifechukwu Athan Onyema , the chairman,
CEO, and founder of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline,
has been charged with bank fraud and money
laundering for moving more than $20 million from
Nigeria through United States bank accounts in a
scheme involving false documents based on the
purchase of airplanes.
The international airline’s Chief of Administration
and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, has also been
charged with bank fraud and committing
aggravated identity theft in connection with the
scheme.
“Onyema allegedly leveraged his status as a
prominent business leader and airline executive
while using falsified documents to commit fraud,”
said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We will
diligently protect the integrity of our banking
system from being corrupted by criminals, even
when they disguise themselves in a cloak of
international business.”
Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of
the DEA Atlanta Field Division commented on the
indictment, “Allen Onyema’s status as a wealthy
businessman turned out to be a fraud. He
corrupted the U.S. banking system, but his trail of
deceit and trickery came to a skidding halt. DEA
would like to thank the many law enforcement
partners and the subsequent prosecution by the
U.S. Attorney’s Office who aided in making this
investigation a success.”
“This case is a prime example of why IRS-CI seeks
to partner and leverage its expertise in an effort to
thwart those seeking to exploit our nation’s
financial system,” said Thomas J. Holloman, IRS-
Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of
the Atlanta Field Office.
“With the importance of our banking system to the
movement of money around the world, those
attempting to use intricate schemes to commit bank
fraud through the use of falsified documents and
other means should know that the odds are now
heavily stacked against them as law enforcement is
combining its talents to protect the sanctity and
integrity of the nation’s financial system.”
“Onyema setup various innocent-sounding multi-
million dollar asset purchases which were nothing
more than alleged fronts for his scam,” said acting Special Agent in
Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in Georgia
and Alabama.
“I’m proud to be part of a team of law enforcement agencies that
come together to identify and attack criminals that attempt to profit
from the exploitation of our nation’s financial systems.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other
information presented in court: Mr Onyema, a Nigerian citizen and
businessman, is the founder and Chairman of several organizations
that purport to promote peace across Nigeria, including the
Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Centre for Non-
Violence and Peace Development, and All-Time Peace Media
Communications Limited.
Beginning in 2010, Onyema began travelling frequently to Atlanta,
where he opened several personal and business bank accounts.
Between 2010 and 2018, over $44.9 million was allegedly
transferred into his Atlanta-based accounts from foreign sources.
Mr Onyema is also the CEO and Chairman of Nigerian airline Air
Peace, which he founded in 2013. In years following the founding of
Air Peace, he travelled to the United States and purchased multiple
airplanes for the airline. However, over $3 million of the funds used
to purchase the aircraft allegedly came from bank accounts for
Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Centre for Non-
Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media
Communications Limited, and Every Child Limited.
Beginning in approximately May 2016, Mr Onyema, together with
Mr Eghagha, allegedly used a series of export letters of credit to
causing banks to transfer more than $20 million into Atlanta-based
bank accounts controlled by Mr Onyema.
The letters of credit were purportedly to fund the purchase of five
separate Boeing 737 passenger planes by Air Peace. The letters were
supported by documents such as purchase agreements, bills of sale,
and appraisals proving that Air Peace was purchasing the aircraft
from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a business registered in
Georgia.
However, the supporting documents were fake — Springfield
Aviation Company LLC, which is owned by Mr Onyema and
managed by a person with no connection to the aviation business,
never owned the aircraft, and the company that allegedly drafted
the appraisals did not exist.
Mr Eghagha allegedly participated in this scheme as well, directing
the Springfield Aviation manager to sign and send false documents
to banks and even using the manager’s identity to further the
fraud. After Mr Onyema received the money in the United States, he
allegedly laundered over $16 million of the proceeds of the fraud by
transferring it to other accounts.
Mr Onyema, 56, of Lagos, Nigeria, and Mr Eghagha, 37, of Lagos,
Nigeria, were 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, Mr Onyema was
charged with 27 counts of money laundering, and Mr Eghagha was
charged with one count of aggravated identity theft.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only
contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the
charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the
defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service
Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Aviation
Administration, Department of Commerce, and Department of
Treasury are investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett L. Bradford, Deputy Chief of the
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section and Lead Strike Force
Attorney, Irina K. Dutcher, and Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of
the Complex Frauds Section, are prosecuting the case, with
assistance from the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and
Asset Recovery Section and Office of International Affairs.
This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of
Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)
Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which enables agents from
different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-
jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and
their affiliate illicit financial networks.
These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the
synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be
forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together
over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most
effective in combating organized crime. The specific mission of the
Atlanta Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle the most significant
drug trafficking and money laundering organizations designated as
Consolidated Priority Organization Targets or Regional Priority
Organization Targets and their affiliates impacting the Atlanta
metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia.