The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced to 56 months (over four years) in prison in the United States for COVID-19 loan fraud.
Oloyede, 62, who is both a Nigerian and U.S. citizen living in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced on August 26 by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko. He will also serve three years of supervised release and repay $4.4 million.
The court ordered him to forfeit his Medina home and nearly $100,000 investigators had seized from the scheme.
According to prosecutors, Oloyede and his partner, Edward Oluwasanmi, conspir€d between April 2020 and February 2022 to cheat U.S. COVID-19 loan programs meant for struggling businesses.
Using six companies, Oloyede submitted f♤ke applications and diverted the funds for personal use. In June 2020 alone, he obtained more than $100,000 for four companies. Later in October 2021, he secured two separate $500,000 loans for other firms.
Investigators also revealed that Oloyede, an accountant, helped others file false applications and took a cut from the loans they received.
