Osun monarch, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede—Apetu of Ipetumodu—has been sentenced to nearly five years in U.S. prison for orchestrating a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud.

A Fall from Royalty to Federal Prison

Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, aged 62 and a dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.S., faced trial in the Northern District of Ohio. On August 26, 2025, U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko handed him a 56-month prison sentence.

In addition to incarceration, the monarch faces three years of supervised release, must pay $4.4 million in restitution, forfeit his Medina, Ohio home, and surrender $96,006.89 seized as fraud proceeds.

Anatomy of the Fraud

Oloyede and accomplice Edward Oluwasanmi, also 62, were convicted on wire and tax fraud charges tied to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), both established under the CARES Act.

Between April 2020 and February 2022, the duo submitted 38 falsified loan applications, collectively siphoning approximately $4.2 million. Oloyede alone acquired multiple businesses and a nonprofit through which he laundered these funds, purportedly pocketing a 15–20% share while using clients’ names to submit fraudulent applications.

Prosecutors disclosed that Oloyede used the stolen funds to buy land, build a home, and purchase a luxury vehicle, betraying the humanitarian purpose of the pandemic relief funds.

While Oloyede faces nearly five years behind bars, Oluwasanmi was sentenced in July 2025 to 27 months, fined over $1.2 million, and required to forfeit assets exceeding $600,000.