A United States District Court in Ohio has sentenced Nigerian pastor, Edward Oluwasanmi, to 27 months in prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. His accomplice, Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Nigeria, is awaiting sentencing and has already forfeited property to the U.S. government.
Both men were arraigned before Justice Christopher Boyko on charges relating to the fraudulent acquisition of $4.2 million in U.S. COVID-19 relief funds, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), between April 2020 and February 2022.
They were jointly charged with 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., money laundering, and illegal financial transactions using criminally derived proceeds. Court records revealed that both defendants reached plea agreements, admitting guilt to select charges.
On Wednesday, July 2, Justice Boyko sentenced Pastor Oluwasanmi to 27 months’ imprisonment on counts 1, 11, and 12 of the indictment, with the terms to run concurrently. The court also imposed a $15,000 fine and ordered him to report to the U.S. Marshal Service. Additionally, he will serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his sentence.
As part of the judgment, Oluwasanmi will forfeit a commercial property located at 422 South Green Road, South Euclid, Ohio.
Meanwhile, Oba Oloyede, who had earlier pleaded guilty to counts 1 and 13 of his charges, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, August 1. The monarch, a U.S.-based accountant and IT expert, had operated multiple businesses — including Available Tax Services Inc., Available Financial Corp., and Available Transportation Co. — which were allegedly used to submit fake tax documents and wage statements to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related funds.
In response to the charges against the traditional ruler, the Osun State Government stated it would wait for the court’s final verdict before deciding on any action regarding his royal status.
State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, said, “A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law. We’ll wait for the legal process to be concluded before making any pronouncements.”
