Nigerian monarch jailed in U.S. for COVID-19 loan fraud

A Nigerian traditional ruler, Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, has been sentenced to 56 months in prison by a U.S. District Court after being convicted of a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 fraud scheme.

The 62-year-old monarch, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced on August 26 by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Oba Oloyede was found guilty of orchestrating fraudulent applications for COVID-19 emergency loan programmes, siphoning millions of dollars meant to support struggling businesses during the pandemic.

READ ALSO FBI arrests US-based Nigerian pastor over alleged $4.2m COVID-19 relief fraud

In addition to his prison term, the court ordered him to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.

In addition, the court ordered him to forfeit his Medina residence on Foote Road – acquired with fraudulent proceeds – alongside $96,006.89 in illicit funds earlier seized by investigators.

Federal prosecutors revealed that between April 2020 and February 2022, Oba Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, 62, of Willoughby, Ohio, led a conspiracy that exploited loan programmes under the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The loans, created to support struggling businesses during the pandemic, were instead siphoned through fraudulent applications submitted by the duo.

Oloyede, who also worked as a tax preparer, used his position and multiple business fronts, five companies and a nonprofit to submit false loan documents. Oluwasanmi also operated three business entities.

Together, they submitted 38 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications, resulting in over $4.2 million in disbursed loans and advances.

Investigators disclosed that Oloyede filed applications not only for his own entities but also in the names of some of his tax clients, taking 15–20% kickbacks from their loan approvals.

Crucially, he failed to declare this illicit income in his personal tax returns.

“Investigators learned that the defendant used funds obtained from these loans to acquire land, build a home, and purchase a luxury vehicle,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Oluwasanmi, who pleaded guilty alongside Oloyede in April to charges of wire fraud and tax fraud, was sentenced earlier in July to 27 months in prison.

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

The U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized that the conviction reflects the seriousness of COVID-19 relief fraud and the joint efforts of federal investigative agencies.

The case was investigated by the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigations, under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford prosecuted the case.

“This case underscores the commitment of U.S. authorities to protect pandemic relief programmes and hold accountable those who abused them for personal gain,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted.

While the Osun State Government and traditional council have yet to make an official statement, the development has stirred heated debates among indigenes of Ipetumodu, with some expressing disappointment at what they described as a “disgrace to the stool of Apetu.”