…Orders repayment of $4.4m, forfeiture of Ohio home
By Our Reporter
An American court has sentenced the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, to 56 months in prison for his involvement in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, in a statement on Tuesday, said Oloyede, 62, a dual Nigerian-U.S. citizen based in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced on August 26 by District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.
In addition to his prison term, the monarch was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution, and forfeit his Medina home, which was purchased with proceeds from the fraud. Investigators also seized an additional $96,006.89.
According to prosecutors, Oloyede led a conspiracy to take advantage of emergency loan programmes created to support businesses during the pandemic. “From about April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, conspired to submit fraudulent applications for loans made available through the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) under the CARES Act,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Investigations revealed that Oloyede, a tax preparer, operated five businesses and a nonprofit organization, while Oluwasanmi owned three companies. Both men used their entities to file falsified applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
“Oloyede caused the SBA to approve 38 fraudulent applications, amounting to $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances,” prosecutors stated.
The monarch also filed fraudulent applications on behalf of clients, collecting between 15 and 20 percent of the loan amounts as kickbacks, which he failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service. Authorities said the funds were diverted to personal luxury, including land acquisition, home construction, and the purchase of an expensive vehicle.
Oloyede and Oluwasanmi had both pleaded guilty in April to wire fraud and tax fraud charges. His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, 62, from Willoughby, Ohio, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay back more than $1.2 million.
The case was jointly investigated by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigations, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford.
