This thread has gone on for a week or more and no one seems to have
bothered to look in a standard dictionary to see what the word means.
Why?

 Here is what Merriam-Webster says:




                        Main Entry: alias

                        Function: adverb
                        Etymology: Latin, otherwise, from alius other --
more at ELSE
                        Date: 15th century
                        : otherwise called : otherwise known as

Note the date on the adverbial use of the word in English.

Also:


                        Main Entry: alias
                        Function: noun
                        Date: 1605
                        : an assumed or additional name

That's all.  Just an assumed or additional name.  No motives, such as
criminality,  are implied with the use of the word.  Many e-mail
addresses use aliases, for example.