Key Points

• U.S. court sentenced Osun monarch for COVID-19 fraud.

• He must repay $4.4 million in stolen funds.

• A co-conspirator got 27 months in prison.

A U.S. court has sentenced the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, to 56 months in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud.

Oloyede, 62, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship, lives in Medina, Ohio. He was sentenced on August 26 by U.S. District Judge Christopher A.

Boyko, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement on Tuesday.

Restitution and property forfeiture

The monarch will also serve three years of supervised release after his jail term. He must pay $4.4 million in restitution.

Investigators seized his Medina home, bought with fraud proceeds, along with $96,006.89 in cash.

How the fraud scheme worked

Prosecutors said Oloyede led a conspiracy to exploit emergency loan programs created to help businesses during the pandemic.

Between April 2020 and February 2022, he and his partner, Edward Oluwasanmi, filed fraudulent loan applications under the CARES Act.

Oloyede, who worked as a tax preparer, ran five businesses and a nonprofit. Oluwasanmi, 62, of Willoughby, Ohio, owned three companies.

Together, they used these entities to submit falsified Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications.

Prosecutors said Oloyede secured approval for 38 fraudulent applications, worth over $4.2 million.

He also filed fake claims for some clients, collecting 15% to 20% of their loans as kickbacks. He never reported this income to the IRS.

Luxury spending and partner’s sentence

Officials said Oloyede used the money for personal gain, including buying land, building a house and purchasing a luxury car.

His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison. He must repay over $1.2 million in restitution.

The FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigations and the Department of Transportation Inspector General’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward Brydle and James Morford handled the prosecution.