By Olatunbosun Obafemi
The traditional ruler of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in a United States prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, and tax offenses linked to a multimillion-dollar pandemic loan scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced the conviction on Tuesday, August 25, 2025, stating that the 62-year-old monarch, who is also a naturalized American citizen, orchestrated a scheme that defrauded the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of more than $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Oloyede, who resides in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced by District Judge Christopher A. Boyko to 56 months in federal prison. In addition, he will serve three years of supervised release and must pay $4.4 million in restitution. The court also ordered him to forfeit his Medina home, which investigators determined was purchased with fraud proceeds, as well as $96,006.89 traced directly to the scheme.
Court records revealed that between April 2020 and February 2022, Oloyede conspired with 62-year-old Edward Oluwasanmi of Willoughby, Ohio, to submit fraudulent loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) initiative. Both programs were introduced under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help businesses survive pandemic-induced economic hardship.
Investigators found that Oloyede, who worked as a tax preparer and operated several businesses and a nonprofit, used these entities alongside Oluwasanmi’s companies to file false applications. Their scam netted approximately $1.7 million for Oloyede’s companies and $1.2 million for Oluwasanmi’s.
Beyond his own firms, Oloyede also exploited his tax clients by filing applications on their behalf using falsified information. He charged kickbacks of up to 20 percent of the disbursed loans, which he failed to declare as income on his tax returns. In total, prosecutors said Oloyede was responsible for 38 fraudulent applications, which led to the approval of $4,213,378 in loans and advances.
The monarch reportedly spent the illicit proceeds on land purchases, home construction, and a luxury vehicle. His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, was sentenced in July 2024 to 27 months in prison, ordered to repay $1.2 million in restitution, and stripped of assets acquired through the fraud, including a commercial property and over $600,000 in cash.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, IRS-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General, working under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford handled the prosecution.
The conviction has attracted wide attention in Nigeria, where Oba Oloyede’s role as a traditional ruler of Ipetumodu contrasts sharply with his conduct in the United States. His sentencing highlights the global reach of pandemic fraud investigations and the willingness of U.S. authorities to pursue offenders regardless of their social or cultural status.
