Two Nigerians, an Osun monarch and a pastor, plead guilty to crime in US, await court sentence
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun, and another Nigerian, Edward Oluwasanmi, a pastor, are facing the prospects of prison sentences in the United States after pleading guilty to charges of COVID-19 relief fraud.
Oloyede, who has dual Nigerian-American citizenship and is based in the US as an accountant and information system expert, was appointed the new Apetu in Osun in July 2019.
He travelled back to America some time ago and was quickly arrested and detained, but he denied his incarceration when the news broke and his townspeople began to ask about his whereabouts.
Oloyede and Oluwasanmi were arrested in early 2024 for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Both were charged with 13 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
They were arraigned before Justice Christopher Boyko of the US District Court of Ohio.
Court documents show that between April 2020 and February 2022, Oloyede and Oluwasanmi submitted falsified applications for Paycheck Protection Programme and Economic Injury Disaster Loans under the US Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
According to the documents, they used fake tax and wage documents to secure funds meant to support struggling businesses during the pandemic.
The US enacted the Act to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic by issuing loans to small businesses and non-profit entities experiencing revenue loss due to the pandemic.
The Act also authorised the US Small Business Administration to issue advances or grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses.
Oloyede, based in Medina, Ohio before his enthronement, is charged with using some of his companies – including Available Tax Services Incorporated, Available Financial Corporation, and Available Transportation Company – to defraud the government through the relief fund.
Oluwasanmi is charged with using his companies – Dayspring Transportation Limited, Dayspring Holding Incorporated, and Dayspring Property Incorporated – to obtain millions of dollars he later diverted for his expenses, in breach of US federal laws.
The court documents said Oloyede and Oluwasanmi, among other things, fraudulently obtained $3.76 million from the US Paycheck Protection Programme and Economic Injury Disaster Loans scheme.
After about one year in court, both men pleaded guilty to some of the charges and now risk prison sentences
On April 10, Oluwasanmi, through his counsel, Henry Hilow, pleaded guilty to counts one, 11, and 12 of the indictment.
In the counts, he is charged with using some of the proceeds of the fraud to purchase a commercial property on 422 South Green Road, South Euclid, Ohio, through wire transfer, and transferring money into Dayspring transportation brokerage account.
“Guilty plea entered to counts 1, 11 and 12 of the indictment. Plea agreement executed. Sentencing set for July 2, 2025, at 10am in Courtroom 9A. Defendant’s bond to continue with same conditions as previously ordered,” the documents said, per The PUNCH.
On April 21, Oloyede submitted his guilty plea before the court which fixed April 24 for the hearing of his pleas.
His long absence from Ipetu has been generating reactions from community leaders, especially after he reportedly demolished the palace with a promise to build a befitting one upon return from his trip to the US, not knowing he would be nabbed.
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