A US District Court in Georgia has issued an arrest warrant for Ejiroghene Eghagha, Chief of Finance and Administration at Nigerian airline Air Peace.
The warrant, issued on October 8, accuses Eghagha of involvement in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme.
Air Peace owner Allen Onyema faces new charges for allegedly attempting to cover up the scheme. In 2019, Onyema was charged with bank fraud and wire fraud for using letters of credit to purchase Boeing aircraft he already owned.
According to the indictment, Onyema:
1. Created Springfield Aviation in 2016, hiring unqualified Ebony Mayfield to manage it.
2. Used fake documents to secure credit from US banks for five Boeing aircraft purchases.
3. Conspired with Eghagha to create a fraudulent contract, backdated to 2016, to deceive the US Attorney’s office and prevent asset forfeiture.
Investigations revealed emails showing Eghagha’s involvement, instructing Mayfield to sign the contract without dating it. Onyema’s lawyer submitted this contract to the US Attorney’s office, claiming no wrongdoing.
Onyema has been a fugitive in the US since 2019. These new charges revive the money-laundering case against him, risking arrest and extradition if he travels to the US or its allied nations.
