Nigerian Monarch Jailed 56 Months in U.S. for Wire, Tax Fraud

The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, southwest Nigeria, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced in the United States to 56 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax offences.

U.S. prosecutors said the 62-year-old, who also holds American citizenship and lived in Medina, Ohio, created and led a scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $4.2 million from federal loan and grant programmes meant to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).

U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko handed down the sentence on Tuesday, August 26, following Oloyede’s guilty plea in April. In addition to the prison term, the court ordered three years of supervised release and restitution of $4,408,543.38. He also forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road—purchased with proceeds of the scheme—and $96,006.89 previously seized by investigators.

How the scheme worked

According to court filings, from about April 2020 to February 2022 Oloyede, a tax preparer who owned five businesses and a nonprofit, and his co-conspirator Edward Oluwasanmi (62), of Willoughby, Ohio, submitted false loan applications for their own entities and in the names of some clients. Prosecutors said the pair secured roughly $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities and $1.2 million for Oluwasanmi’s, with Oloyede also filing fraudulent applications for certain clients’ businesses.

In exchange for obtaining loans, Oloyede allegedly took 15–20% “fees” or kickbacks and failed to report that income on his tax returns. Investigators said scheme proceeds were used to buy land, build a house and purchase a luxury vehicle. In total, the U.S. Small Business Administration approved 38 fraudulent applications tied to the defendants, resulting in $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances.

Charges and co-defendant’s sentence

Oloyede was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property, and two counts of making and subscribing a false tax return.

His co-defendant, Oluwasanmi, was sentenced in July 2024 to 27 months in prison, three years of supervised release, a $15,000 fine, and $1.2 million in restitution. He also forfeited a commercial property in South Euclid and more than $600,000 traced to the fraud.

Agencies involved

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation–Office of Inspector General (as part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force), the FBI, Cleveland Division, and IRS–Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford for the Northern District of Ohio.