A Nigerian monarch, Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, named Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in a United States prison after being found guilty of a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fund fraud scheme.
The Punch reported that Oloyede, 62, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United States who resides in Medina, Ohio, was on August 26 sentenced to 56 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko.
In addition to the prison term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced on Tuesday that the monarch was directed to serve three years of supervised release and repay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.
“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,” the statement read.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Oloyede led a conspiracy to exploit COVID-19 emergency loan programmes created for struggling businesses.
“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 guilty to wire fraud and tax fraud charges linked to a pandemic relief scam that siphoned over $4.2m in federal stimulus funds.
The court was told that Oloyede, who also worked as a tax preparer, “operated five businesses and one nonprofit, while Oluwasanmi owned an additional three business entities.
“Both defendants used their businesses to submit loan applications using false information.
“They obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities,” the statement added.
“Fraudulent Applications and Kickbacks”
The elaborate fraud went even further that according to investigators, “Oloyede submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications in the names of some of his clients and their businesses.
“In exchange, Oloyede would receive 15-20% of their loans as the fee, or kickback, for obtaining the loans for them, without reporting this income to the IRS on his own tax returns.”
The funds were then used for personal gain, prosecutors said.
“Investigators learned that the defendant used funds obtained from these loans to acquire land and build a home and purchase a luxury vehicle,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office disclosed.
In all, Oloyede “caused the SBA to approve 38 fraudulent applications, amounting to $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances.”
His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, 62, of Willoughby, was earlier sentenced in July to 27 months in prison.
He was further directed to pay over $1.2 million in restitution, forfeit a commercial property acquired with the proceeds of the fraud, and hand over more than $600,000 kept in financial accounts.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the conviction underscores the seriousness of the crime, which was uncovered through a joint investigation involving the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the FBI Cleveland Division, and IRS-Criminal Investigations, under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.
The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and James L. Morford for the Northern District of Ohio, the statement added.
