Nigeria Monarch reportedly in US FBI Custody for COVID-19 relief Fund $4.2 Million Fraud
Controversy has trailed the absence of Oba Joseph Oloyede, Apetu of Ipetumodu as US Justice Department has indicted him for diverting $4.2 Million COVID-19 relief Fund.
For almost a year now the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State ,Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede has been away from his domain.
So when in April 2024 the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio indicted two men including one Joseph Oloyede, 61, for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief Fund totaling $4.2 Million, speculations made the round that Oba Oloyede, Who’s also 61 at the time of the Indictment and was based in the United States and worked as an accountant and systems Analyst before his Coronation in 2019 , and had been a frequent visitor to his adopted country, is the same person in the web of the United States law.
And because Oba Oloyede left for America in March 2024 and the Indictment was released in April 2024 and he had not been seen in public since then and has not traveled back to his domain , it’s been Alleged that he’s the one facing the wrath of the law in the US with some of his subjects in quandary at home because critical ceremonies and festivals requiring the physical presence of the monarch are being performed by others or postponed indefinitely.
It should be noted that According to US law , “An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.”
The Case Against Joseph Oloyede and Associate
By United States Department of Justice
Medina and Cleveland Men Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining $4.2 Million in Covid Relief Funds
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio
CLEVELAND – A federal grand jury in Cleveland returned a 13-count indictment charging two individuals for their alleged roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Joseph Oloyede, 61, of Medina, Ohio and Edward Oluwasanmi, 61, of Willoughby, Ohio are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering offenses.
According to the indictment, from in or around April 2020, and continuing through on or about February 28, 2022, Oloyede and Oluwasanmi devised a scheme to defraud the SBA and financial institutions by obtaining COVID-19 relief funds from the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under false pretenses.
The indictment states that Oloyede and Oluwasanmi submitted PPP and EIDL loan applications containing false information for entities under their control and submitted falsified tax and wage documents to support these applications.
The indictment alleges that they obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities.
Oloyede is also alleged to have submitted falsified PPP and EIDL loan applications in the names of other co-conspirators and confederate borrowers and their businesses, obtaining approximately $1.3 through those applications, for a total of at least $4.2 million obtained through the fraud.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the Defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the Defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.
In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation – OIG, as part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force, Cleveland FBI, and IRS – Criminal Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Brydle.
