Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, has been sentenced to over four years in prison in the United States. The 62-year-old monarch, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced to 56 months in prison on August 26 by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced that Oloyede was also ordered to “serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.” Additionally, he forfeited his home on Foote Road in Medina, which was purchased with proceeds from the fraudulent scheme, along with another $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds seized by investigators.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Oloyede led a conspiracy to exploit COVID-19 emergency loan programs aimed at helping struggling businesses. “From about April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, conspired to submit fraudulent applications for loans that were made available through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” the statement indicated.
In April, both men pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and tax fraud related to a pandemic relief scam that diverted over $4.2 million in federal stimulus funds. The court heard that Oloyede, who also worked as a tax preparer, “operated five businesses and one nonprofit, while Oluwasanmi owned an additional three business entities.” The defendants utilized their businesses to submit loan applications with false information, obtaining approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s.
The fraudulent activities extended further, as investigators revealed that “Oloyede submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications in the names of some of his clients and their businesses.” In exchange for this service, Oloyede would collect a fee of 15-20% of their loans, which he failed to report to the IRS on his tax returns. Prosecutors stated that the funds were ultimately used for personal gain, disclosing that “Investigators learned that the defendant used funds obtained from these loans to acquire land and build a home and purchase a luxury vehicle.”
In total, Oloyede “caused the SBA to approve 38 fraudulent applications, amounting to $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances.” His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, 62, from Willoughby, was sentenced earlier in July to 27 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution, forfeit a commercial property bought with fraud proceeds, and surrender over $600,000 held in financial accounts.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office highlighted the importance of the conviction, stating that the case was investigated jointly by the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigations as part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force. “This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford for the Northern District of Ohio,” the release concluded.
Leave a Reply