The United States Department of Justice has charged Allen Ifechukwu Athan Onyema, the founder and CEO of Air Peace with 27 counts of bank fraud and money laundering.
The Airline owner was accused of moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through United States bank accounts in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of airplanes.
In a statement credited to the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia, the Head of Administration and Finance of Air Peace, Ejiroghene Eghagha, was also charged with bank fraud and committing aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.
According to U.S Attorney, Byung J. “BJay” PAK, Chief Onyema allegedly leveraged his status as a prominent business leader and airline executive while using falsified documents to commit fraud.
According to him, his department will continue to diligently protect the integrity of the banking system from being corrupted by criminals, even when they disguise themselves in a cloak of international business.
Commenting on the indictment, Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division alleged that Allen Onyema’s status as a wealthy businessman turned out to be a fraud.
He said that Allen corrupted the U.S. banking system, but his trail of deceit and trickery came to a skidding halt.
He commended law enforcement partners and the subsequent prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office who aided in making the investigation a success.
Speaking also, Thomas J. Holloman, IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office said that the case is a prime example of why IRS-CI seeks to partner and leverage its expertise to thwart those seeking to exploit the nation’s financial system.
He said, “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 now heavily stacked against them as law enforcement is combining its talents to protect the sanctity and integrity of the nation’s financial system.”
Accusing Allen Onyema of setting up various innocent sounding multi-million dollar asset purchases which were nothing more than alleged fronts for his scam, the acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in Georgia and Alabama, said that he was proud to be part of a team of law enforcement agencies that came together to identify and attack criminals that attempt to profit from the exploitation of our nation’s financial systems.
Speaking on Onyema’s personality, the U.S. Attorney Pak, said that Allen Onyema, is Nigeria citizen and businessman, and also the founder and Chairman of several organizations that purport to promote peace across Nigeria, including the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Center for Non-Violence and Peace Development, and All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited.
According to him, in 2010, Onyema began travelling frequently to Atlanta, where he opened several personal and business bank accounts. He claimed that between 2010 and 2018, over $44.9 million was allegedly transferred into Allen Onyema’s Atlanta-based accounts from foreign sources.
Making further claims, part of his statement reads, “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 traveled 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 Center for Non-Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited, and Every Child Limited”
He said that in May 2016, Onyema, together with Eghagha, allegedly used a series of export letters of credit to cause banks to transfer more than $20 million into Atlanta-based bank accounts controlled by Onyema.
