The Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Oloyede, a traditional ruler from Osun State, Nigeria, has been sentenced to 56 months in prison by a U.S. District Court for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 fraud scheme.
Oloyede, 62, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resided in Medina, Ohio, was handed the jail term on August 26 by Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the Northern District of Ohio. In addition to the prison sentence, the monarch was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay restitution of $4,408,543.38, and forfeit assets linked to the fraud, including his Medina residence and nearly $100,000 in seized proceeds.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, engaged in a sophisticated scheme to exploit emergency loan programs established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Between April 2020 and February 2022, the duo submitted dozens of fraudulent applications for federal loans intended to support struggling businesses during the pandemic.
Court documents revealed that Oloyede, a tax preparer, used his own companies and those of clients to submit falsified Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications. He allegedly took a 15–20% cut from loans secured for his clients, without declaring the income to tax authorities.
Investigators said Oloyede used part of the illicit funds to purchase land, build a house, and buy a luxury vehicle. In total, he was linked to 38 fraudulent applications, resulting in over $4.2 million in disbursed federal relief funds.
His accomplice, Oluwasanmi, 62, of Willoughby, Ohio, was earlier sentenced in July to 27 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution, forfeit commercial property, and surrender over $600,000 in fraud proceeds.
The case was investigated by the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigations, operating under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force. Prosecutors Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford led the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The conviction underscores U.S. authorities’ crackdown on pandemic-related fraud, which siphoned billions from relief programs meant to support struggling businesses and families during the COVID-19 crisis.
