The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced to more than four years in a United States prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
Oloyede, 62, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and lives in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced on August 26 to 56 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.
He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay $4.4 million in restitution, and forfeit his Medina home and $96,006 in seized fraud proceeds.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Oloyede conspired with 62-year-old Edward Oluwasanmi to exploit emergency loan programs created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. From April 2020 to February 2022, the duo submitted dozens of fraudulent applications for loans administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Both men pleaded guilty in April to wire fraud and tax fraud charges. Investigators said Oloyede, who also worked as a tax preparer, used his five businesses and a nonprofit to obtain $1.7 million in SBA funds, while Oluwasanmi used three entities to obtain $1.2 million. Oloyede also filed fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications in the names of his clients, taking a 15–20% kickback from their loan amounts without reporting the income to tax authorities.
In total, Oloyede was linked to 38 fraudulent applications that netted $4.2 million in federal stimulus funds. Prosecutors said he spent the money on personal luxuries, including land, a new home, and a luxury vehicle.
Oluwasanmi was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison, ordered to repay more than $1.2 million, and forced to forfeit property and $600,000 in fraud proceeds.
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, IRS-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford.
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This is so shameful