“From throne to prison” – US sentences Osun monarch, Oba Oloyede, to prison over $4.2m COVID-19 fraud
A United States court has sentenced the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, to 56 months in prison over a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fund fraud.
Judge Christopher Boyko of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, delivered the judgment on Tuesday, also ordering the monarch to pay over $4.4 million in restitution and forfeit assets linked to the fraudulent scheme.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Oloyede was convicted after admitting to a six-count charge involving conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns.
Investigators revealed that between April 2020 and February 2022, Oloyede and his associate, 62-year-old Edward Oluwasanmi, exploited federal relief programmes meant to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic.
Using multiple businesses and even the identities of tax clients, they submitted dozens of fraudulent applications under the Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) scheme.
The court found that Oloyede personally benefited from about $1.7 million, while Oluwasanmi secured $1.2 million.
The monarch also collected kickbacks of up to 20 percent from fraudulent loans obtained in the names of his tax clients.
Prosecutors disclosed that Oloyede used the proceeds to purchase land, build a house, and acquire a luxury car. He has since forfeited his home in Medina, Ohio, as well as nearly $100,000 in seized fraud proceeds.
Oluwasanmi was earlier sentenced in July 2024 to 27 months in prison, alongside a $15,000 fine and a restitution order of more than $1.2 million.
The fraud, linked to at least 38 false loan applications, was uncovered through investigations by the FBI, IRS–Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General, under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.
