A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian pastor, Edward Oluwasanmi, to 27 months in prison after he admitted to taking part in a $4.2 million fraud scheme involving COVID-19 relief funds. Meanwhile, his associate, Oba Joseph Oloyede, a traditional ruler from Osun State, is set to face sentencing in August after pleading guilty to related charges.
The verdict, delivered by Justice Christopher Boyko of the US District Court in Ohio on July 2, followed a plea agreement in which both defendants accepted guilt for some of the counts filed against them. Oluwasanmi, who was convicted on counts 1, 11, and 12 of the indictment, will serve the prison terms concurrently and was fined $15,000. The court also mandated a three-year supervised release upon completion of his jail time.
“As a result of the foregoing offenses, defendants Joseph Oloyede and Edward Oluwasanmi shall forfeit to the United States all property, real and personal, which constitutes—or is derived from—proceeds traceable to the commission of the wire fraud wire fraud conspiracy offenses,” the court ruling declared.
Among the assets to be surrendered is a commercial building located at 422 South Green Road, South Euclid, Ohio, registered to Oluwasanmi. The monarch, who is also a US-based accountant and IT specialist, will know his fate on August 1.
The pair were arrested in early 2024 following investigations into fraudulent applications made for the US Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. These applications spanned from April 2020 to February 2022 and reportedly involved fake tax returns and falsified wage documents. The fraudulent claims were tied to companies linked to Oba Oloyede, including Available Tax Services Inc., Available Financial Corporation, and Available Transportation Company.
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Both men were slammed with 13 charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and transactions involving criminally acquired assets.
Oloyede entered his guilty plea on April 21. During the trial, it emerged that the monarch’s companies were used to channel the illicitly obtained relief funds, meant to support legitimate businesses struggling during the pandemic.
In Nigeria, the Osun State Government has kept silent on the monarch’s status, pending the court’s final decision. Reacting to the ongoing case, the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said:
“A person is innocent until a court convicts them. So, we don’t want to jump the gun; let us wait for the court’s pronouncement on the matter.”
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