On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, a U.S. District Court sentenced Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, to 56 months in prison for orchestrating a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme, as reported by Sahara Reporters and TheCable. Oloyede, a 62-year-old dual U.S.-Nigerian citizen residing in Medina, Ohio, was convicted alongside Edward Oluwasanmi, with U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko ordering three years of supervised release and $4,408,543.38 in restitution. Oloyede forfeited his Medina home and $96,006.89 in seized fraud proceeds.
From April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede, a tax preparer operating five businesses and one nonprofit, and Oluwasanmi, with three business entities, submitted 38 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications under the CARES Act, securing $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities and $1.2 million for Oluwasanmi’s, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. Oloyede also filed fraudulent applications for clients, taking 15–20% kickbacks unreported to the IRS, using funds for land, a luxury vehicle, and home construction. Oluwasanmi, 62, received 27 months in prison and a $1.2 million restitution order in July 2024. X posts from @SaharaReporters (August 26, 2025) highlighted the sentencing, while @Naija_Activist noted public outrage, citing Nigeria’s 2024 fraud-related losses of $6 billion (EFCC, 2024). The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General.
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