After Months of legal battle, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has issued an arrest warrant for 42-year-old Ejiroghene Eghagha, the Chief of Finance and Administration of Air Peace.
Air Peace is a Nigerian airline that flies domestic and international routes.
According to 9News Nigeria, the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta under Kevin Weimer issued the warrant on October 8.
The warrant that branded Mrs Eghagha a fugitive, ordered that she be taken into custody and produced in court before prosecutors could start the trial.
Mrs Eghagha’s arrest warrant was issued just as a superseded indictment was slammed against Mr Onyema, the Air Peace owner, whose attempt to cover up a multi-million dollar fraud scheme has landed him a fresh set of criminal charges.
In 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed a slew of charges ranging from bank fraud and wire fraud against Mr Onyema who in 2017 raised fresh letters of credit to purchase the same Boeing aircrafts that he had already bought months prior, in a manner akin to money-laundering.
“The purpose of the letter of credit was purportedly to fund Air Peace’s purchase of Boeing 28721 from Springfield Aviation, an aircraft already owned by Air Peace that was never owned by Springfield,” the indictment filed on October 8 stated.
Mr Onyema established Springfield Aviation in 2016 and hired Ebony Mayfield who had no Aviation qualification to manage the business.
He purchased five Boeing aircrafts.
Months later, Air Peace raised letters of credit to U.S. banks to pay Springfield (the company he created) for the same aircrafts that he had already bought months prior. He submitted fake supporting documents to strengthen his credit applications.
His bank accounts in the U.S. and Canada were frozen with millions of dollars in them and he was set to forfeit the money to the American government.
But in a desperate attempt to keep the funds and outsmart the U.S. law enforcement, Mr Onyema connived with Mrs Eghagha to create a fraudulent contract, “Aircraft Sales and Management Agreement between Springfield Aviation and Air Peace” in May 2019. They backdated the contract to 2016 to make it seem like the contract existed before the first aircraft purchase.
Mr Onyema and Mrs Eghagha then gave the fraudulent contract to their lawyer, who in turn, submitted it to the U.S. Attorney’s office, where he explained the actions of his clients were not criminal and that there was no need pursuing the forfeiture proceeding.
The act of falsifying documents to prevent forfeiture of the seized funds, according to the grand jury, was deemed a conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.
Investigators subpoenaed Google to access the email records of the defendants and determine the source and actual date of the so-called contract.
Investigators found that Mrs Eghagha sent a mail to Ms Mayfield, a lady who pleaded, to sign the Management Agreement with a strict instruction stating “do not date.”
“Kindly help, print and sign the attached document,” Mrs Eghagha wrote in the mail on May 16, 2019 coping Mr Onyema. “Do not date please.”
“Once you have signed, kindly scan back to me. Let me know via WhatsApp if you have any questions,” she added in the mail.
Ms Mayfield did as instructed and resent the scanned contract to Mrs Eghagha on May 17, 2019.
Mr Onyema “caused his attorney J.H. to send” the fraudulent contract to the U.S. Attorney’s office “with the hopes of resolving the government’s concern and bringing the matter to a close.” The Air Peace CEO had intended for the contract to free him of any pending forfeiture proceeding.
The phrase “caused his attorney J.H.” suggests that Mr Onyema’s lawyer may have testified against his client that he was not complicit in submitting forged documents to free his client’s assets.
It is illegal for a lawyer and his client to knowingly commit fraud, as doing so would nullify attorney–client privilege, thereby activating the crime fraud exception.
The fresh set of charges of obstructing justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice has resurrected what would have otherwise been a cold case of money-laundering against the Air Peace boss.
Since 2019, Mr Onyema has been the subject of an active arrest warrant, making him a fugitive in the United States.
But Air Peace Limited on Sunday assured its customers that justice will prevail over an “expanded” charge by United States authorities alleging that its CEO and founder, Allen Onyema, obstructed justice by allegedly submitting false documents to halt a federal investigation.
Air Peace reacted through a statement issued on Sunday, October 13, 2024 following a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, announcing on Friday that “Allen Onyema, the Chairman, CEO, and founder of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, has been charged in a superseding indictment with 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.
“Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, was also charged for participating in the obstruction scheme, as well as in the earlier bank fraud counts.”
However, the airline’s management admitted that the charges levelled against its “post-holders” are part of an extended legal process stemming from earlier accusations of financial misconduct that date back several years.
It added that while the charges have been expanded, it is essential to emphasize that both Dr. Onyema and Mrs. Eghagha remain innocent as the case is pending in court.
“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.
“It is important to note that Dr. Onyema and his legal team have consistently cooperated with authorities throughout this process, and Air Peace continues to operate without disruption, upholding our commitment to delivering top-notch services to our valued customers,” the statement partly read.
Air Peace reassured the public that the ongoing legal proceedings would not impact the safety, reliability, or day-to-day operations of the airline.
“The dedication and focus of our staff remain steadfast as we continue to provide you with the best aviation experience in Nigeria and beyond,” it added.
