Allen Onyema, the Nigerian
aviation executive who was recently accused by the United States of committing
more than $21 million fraud, could spend up to 105 years in prison if convicted
of a laundry of charges bordering on the alleged fraud.
Mr Onyema was indicted by a
federal grand jury in the United States on November 19 on multiple charges
bordering on criminal conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering.
According to the initial
announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice and the full indictment, Mr Onyema was indicted on one count of
conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of bank fraud and one count of
conspiracy to commit credit application fraud.
The Air Peace chairman was also
charged with three counts of credit application fraud and 27 counts of money
laundering. Mr Onyema faces a total of 35 counts — each criminal in nature and
carries specific penalties that involve either a hefty fine or jail sentence or
both.
The charges were far greater than
those leveled against Mr Onyema’s alleged accomplice, Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air
Peace’s head of finance and administration.
Mr Eghagha was slammed with one
count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of bank fraud, one count
of conspiracy to commit credit application fraud, three counts of credit
application fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Both suspects denied the
allegations in a November 23 statement and indicated their readiness to fight
the charges in court.
Lengthy sentences
Neither Mr Onyema nor his lawyers
have said anything about whether or not he would be going to America to defend
the charges or when. But the details already made available by the U.S.
authorities have provided a good idea of potential penalties that could come
from the charges.
According to the indictment, Mr
Onyema, aided allegedly by Ms Eghagha, raised several letters of credit to buy
the same planes he had already purchased and added to Air Peace’s fleet of
commercial airliners in Nigeria.
Based on the dubious letters of
credit, American banking giant Wells Fargo transferred more than $21 million to
bank accounts of U.S.-based Springfield Aviation, a suspected shell company
registered and controlled by Mr Onyema.
Wells Fargo paid the money to Mr
Onyema in a series of transactions between February 10, 2017 and February 20,
2018, court documents said.
Mr Onyema then allegedly
transferred the funds to different bank accounts in a series of 27 transactions
between March and November 2017, the indictment said.
As part of the investigation,
American authorities have already frozen bank accounts allegedly owned by Mr
Onyema in the U.S. and Canada, trapping N5 billion ($14.2 million) in the
cross-border measure.
The indictment said a final
forfeiture of the funds would be pursued as part of potential penalties against
Mr Onyema. Since the businessman has not been formally arraigned in court,
prosecutors have yet to disclose possible sentences or fines.
But based on the counts already
leveled against him, Mr Onyema could be sentenced to 105 years, including
sentences that may run concurrently.
The maximum penalty for bank fraud
(Title 18 Section 3144) is 30 years.
Mr Onyema was slammed with three
counts of this, which means he could face maximum 90 years on bank fraud
charges. But since the charges are likely to run concurrently, it means 30
years would be the maximum.
Attempt to commit bank fraud
(Title 18 Section 1349) carries the same penalty as bank fraud itself. If Mr
Onyema is found guilty of the lone count of attempted bank fraud, he could get
the maximum 30 years in prison.
Three counts of credit
application fraud (Title 18 Section 1014) also carry maximum 90 years’
imprisonment at 30 years per count. Again, only 30 years would apply here if
the three counts run concurrently.
The maximum penalty for
conspiracy to commit credit application fraud (Title 18 Section 371) is five
years.
The 27 money laundering charges
(Title 18 Section 3144) carry a maximum 270 years at 10 years per count.
Running concurrently, Mr Onyema would get a maximum ten years here also. The 27
charges are for each of the 27 bank transfers that Mr Onyema allegedly
initiated between March and November 2017.
Altogether, Mr Onyema faces 105
years from the 35 charges.
Hefty fines
All the charges also carry option
of fines, and in some cases both fines and imprisonment. The three counts of
bank fraud carry a maximum $1 million each. Attempt to commit bank fraud
carries $1 million maximum.
The three counts of credit
application fraud carry a maximum of $1 million per count.
The 27 counts of money laundering
carry a penalty of $1 million per count.
Although fines were prescribed as
one of the penalties for conspiracy to credit application fraud (Title 18
Section 371), no specific amount was stated, indicating that this would be left
to the presiding judge to determine.
Based on the prescribed fines, Mr
Onyema faces $34 million in potential fines if convicted, and this may be with
or without a prison sentence.
Unknown paths
PREMIUM TIMES analysed the
potential penalties for Mr Onyema based on information obtained from the Title
18 of the United States Code (USC), which is the main criminal code of the
American federal government.
Mr Onyema is facing federal
charges and most of the officials responsible for his investigation and
indictment are from federal agencies.
However, additional factors may
play out, depending on how the case proceeds.
These include whether Mr Onyema
would ask his lawyers to negotiate a soft landing for him and the discretion of
the judge that would be assigned to the case.
While our analysis looked at the
maximum penalties, actual sentences for federal crimes are usually less than
the maximum penalties prescribed by law.
The federal judge that would be
assigned to try the case will determine how lengthy a sentence for a successful
count would be after taking into account the federal sentencing guidelines and
other statutory factors.
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