US Court Jails Nigerian Monarch Over $4.2m COVID-19 Loan Fraud

By: Aremu Toyeebaht

A Nigerian traditional ruler, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been convicted in the United States for orchestrating a multi-million-dollar fraud targeting COVID-19 relief funds.

Oloyede, 62, who also holds U.S. citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio, was on August 26 sentenced to 56 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the monarch was further ordered to “serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.

“He also forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, which he had acquired with proceeds of the scheme, and an additional $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds investigators had seized,” the statement read.

Prosecutors said Oloyede spearheaded a conspiracy that exploited emergency loan programmes created to rescue struggling U.S. businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“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 Association (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” the statement read.

The court was told that Oloyede, who also worked as a tax preparer, “operated five businesses and one nonprofit, while Oluwasanmi owned an additional three business entities.

“Both defendants used their businesses to submit loan applications using false information. They obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities,” the statement added.

The conviction not only strips the monarch of his U.S. home and illicit proceeds but also places him at the centre of one of the most high-profile fraud cases linked to the CARES Act in recent years.