A Nigerian monarch with dual U.S. citizenship has been sentenced to 56 months in federal prison for orchestrating a widespread fraud scheme that stole millions of dollars from U.S. COVID-19 relief programs.
Oba Joseph Oloyede, 62, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Nigeria, who resides in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced on August 26 by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko. The sentence was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
In addition to his prison term, Oloyede was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay over $4.4 million in restitution. As part of his plea, he forfeited his Medina home—which was purchased with illicit funds—and an additional $96,000 seized by investigators.
According to court documents, Oloyede, who worked as a tax preparer, led a conspiracy to exploit emergency loan programs designed to help struggling businesses during the pandemic. From April 2020 to February 2022, he and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, 62, of Willoughby, Ohio, submitted dozens of fraudulent applications for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
Prosecutors stated that Oloyede used his own five businesses and one non-profit, along with Oluwasanmi’s three entities, to apply for the funds. He successfully caused the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to approve 38 fraudulent applications, resulting in over $4.2 million in disbursed loans.
Furthermore, Oloyede filed fraudulent applications on behalf of clients, taking a 15-20% kickback from their loans without reporting that income to the IRS.
The illicit funds were used for personal enrichment, including purchasing land, constructing a home, and buying a luxury vehicle.
Oloyede and Oluwasanmi both pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax fraud charges in April. Oluwasanmi was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay over $1.2 million in restitution.
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