Osun Monarch Jailed Four Years In US For $4.2m COVID-19 Fraud

The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has bagged a 56- month jail term in the United States, for COVID-19 fraud.

Oloyede, 62, who holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced to 56 months in prison 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, the traditional ruler, was also ordered to “serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.

The statement read in part: “He also forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, which he had acquired with proceeds of the scheme, and an additional $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds investigators had seized.

“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 read.

In April, the duo pleaded to wire fraud and tax fraud charges linked to a pandemic relief scam that siphoned over $4.2 million in federal stimulus funds.