Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, has been sentenced to 56 months in a US federal prison for his central role in a large-scale COVID-19 relief fraud scheme that siphoned over $4.2 million from federal aid programs.
The 62-year-old traditional ruler, who holds dual citizenship and resided in Medina, Ohio, was convicted of wire fraud and tax fraud after admitting to orchestrating dozens of fraudulent loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program initiatives established to support businesses during the pandemic.
Between April 2020 and February 2022, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, exploited these programs by using fake or inflated business details to secure funds from the US Small Business Administration under the CARES Act.
Beyond defrauding the government with his own companies, Oloyede also submitted applications on behalf of others in exchange for kickbacks and failed to report the illicit income to tax authorities.
The funds were used for personal enrichment, including purchasing land, building a home, and acquiring a luxury vehicle. In all, he was directly responsible for 38 fraudulent loan applications.
As part of the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko on August 26, Oloyede must also pay over $4.4 million in restitution, forfeit his Ohio home and over $96,000 in seized funds, and serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison and ordered to repay more than $1.2 million, along with surrendering a commercial property and over $600,000 in financial assets.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS–Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.
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