Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, has been sentenced to 56 months in prison by a U.S. federal court for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud.
The 62-year-old dual U.S.-Nigerian citizen, who resides in Ohio, was also ordered to pay over $4.4 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko handed down the sentence on Tuesday, and Oloyede was further required to forfeit his Medina, Ohio, home and an additional $96,006.89 in proceeds investigators had seized.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Oloyede, together with his co-conspirator Edward Oluwasanmi, engaged in a scheme from April 2020 to February 2022 to exploit emergency COVID-19 loan programmes provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the CARES Act.
“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 said.
Both men pleaded guilty in April to wire fraud and tax fraud charges. Court records indicate that Oloyede, a tax preparer,and owner of multiple businesses and a nonprofit, used these entities to submit false loan applications.
He obtained approximately $1.7 million in SBA funds for his entities, while Oluwasanmi secured $1.2 million for his own businesses.
Investigators also found that Oloyede submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications in the names of some of his clients, receiving 15–20% of the loan amounts as kickbacks without reporting the income to the IRS. The misappropriated funds were used to acquire land, 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,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Oluwasanmi, also 62 and from Willoughby, Ohio, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison. He was ordered to pay over $1.2 million in restitution, forfeit a commercial property purchased with fraud proceeds, and surrender more than $600,000 held in financial accounts.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office highlighted the collaborative investigation by the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigations under 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 statement added.
The conviction underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to holding individuals accountable for exploiting federal relief programmes during the pandemic.
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