US jails Osun monarch for $4.2m COVID-19 loan fraud

Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison in the U.S. for his role in a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.

Oloyede, 62, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio, was on August 26 sentenced to 56 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the monarch was also ordered to “serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543 in restitution.”

He will also forfeit his residence in Medina and $96,006 seized by investigators.

Oloyede was arrested in April 2024 alongside a Nigerian pastor, Edward Oluwasanmi, in connection with pandemic relief fraud.

The duo faced 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property.

“Both defendants used their businesses to submit loan applications using false information. They obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Investigators revealed that Oloyede submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications in the names of some of his clients.

“In exchange, Oloyede would receive 15–20% of their loans as the fee, or kickback, for obtaining the loans for them, without reporting this income to the IRS on his own tax returns,” prosecutors told the court.

The funds were used for personal enrichment. “Investigators learned that the defendant used funds obtained from these loans to acquire land and build a home and purchase a luxury vehicle,” the statement added.

In all, Oloyede caused the Small Business Administration “to approve 38 fraudulent applications, amounting to $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances.”

His co-defendant, Oluwasanmi, 62, of Willoughby, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison.

He was ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution, forfeit a commercial property purchased with fraud proceeds, and surrender over $600,000 held in financial accounts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stressed the significance of the convictions.

“This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford for the Northern District of Ohio,” it said.