US Jails Apetu of Ipetumodu For 56 Months Over 4.2 Million COVID-19 Fraud

The Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in a United States federal prison for defrauding COVID 19 relief programs of more than 4.2 million dollars.

Oloyede, 62, who holds Nigerian and US citizenship and lives in Medina, Ohio, received a 56 month sentence on August 26 from US District Judge Christopher A Boyko. He will also serve three years of supervised release and must pay 4,408,543.38 dollars in restitution, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

Prosecutors said he forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, purchased with fraud proceeds, along with an additional 96,006.89 dollars seized by investigators.

Authorities stated that from April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede and a co conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, led a scheme to exploit emergency loan programs created for struggling businesses during the pandemic. They submitted false applications for loans offered by the US Small Business Administration under the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

Investigators said applicants were required to provide tax records, wage statements, and other documents to prove eligibility, but Oloyede falsified records and diverted funds for personal use, contrary to federal law.

Court documents show that in June 2020 alone, Oloyede obtained more than 100,000 dollars in loans for four of his six companies, including Available Tax Services, Available Tutors, Available Financial, and Available Transportation. On October 7, 2021, he secured a 500,000 dollar loan for JO and A, and two days later another 500,000 dollars for Available Transportation.

The FBI also alleged that Oloyede, an accountant by profession, helped others carry out similar fraud, taking a percentage of the disbursed loans as his fee. The indictment states he assisted confederate borrowers in submitting PPP and EIDL applications containing false information.

Oloyede was arrested on May 4, 2024, following the issuance of a warrant, and faced a 13 count fraud indictment in the Northern District of Ohio.