Osun Monarch Jailed Four Years In U.S. Over $4.2m COVID-19 Loan Fraud

The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, has been sentenced to more than four years in prison in the United States for his role in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.

Oloyede, 62, who holds both Nigerian and U.S. citizenship, was handed a 56-month jail term on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko in Ohio.

According to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the traditional ruler was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after prison and to repay $4.4 million in restitution.

He further forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, which prosecutors said was purchased with proceeds of the fraud, as well as an additional $96,000 seized from him during investigations.

The U.S. authorities said Oloyede conspired with one Edward Oluwasanmi to exploit federal emergency loan programmes put in place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to support struggling businesses.

“From April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede and his co-conspirator submitted multiple fraudulent applications for loans available through the U.S. Small Business Administration under the CARES Act,” the statement read.

Investigators disclosed that the monarch, who also worked as a tax preparer, operated several businesses and used them to file falsified applications for pandemic relief loans. In some cases, he filed loan requests on behalf of clients, pocketing up to 20 per cent of the disbursed funds as kickbacks without declaring the income for tax purposes.

Prosecutors revealed that Oloyede caused the approval of 38 fraudulent applications, siphoning over $4.2 million in government-backed loans and advances. The funds were diverted to personal expenses, including land purchases, a luxury vehicle and the building of a home.

His accomplice, Oluwasanmi, also 62, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution. He equally forfeited a commercial property and over $600,000 traced to the fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stressed that the conviction underscored its determination to hold accountable those who exploited pandemic relief measures meant for genuine small businesses.

The elaborate investigation was carried out by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division and the IRS-Criminal Investigations, under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford prosecuted the case.