Apetu of Ipetumodu jailed for over 4 years in the US for a $4.2M COVID loan fraud, forfeiting assets and ordered to pay $4.4M restitution

Apetu of Ipetumodu jailed in the United States after being convicted of masterminding a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 loan scam that defrauded federal relief programs during the pandemic.

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Oba Joseph Oloyede, 62, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.S., was sentenced on August 26 to 56 months in federal prison by Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the U.S. District Court in Ohio.

In addition, he was ordered to pay over $4.4 million in restitution, forfeit his Ohio home and nearly $96,000 in seized fraud proceeds, and serve three years of supervised release.

The charges stem from a scheme that ran between April 2020 and February 2022.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Oloyede led a conspiracy with co-defendant Edward Oluwasanmi to exploit pandemic-era loan programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).

Investigators found that Oloyede submitted dozens of fraudulent loan applications using his own businesses, a nonprofit, and even his clients’ companies — often without their full knowledge.

In exchange, he demanded a 15–20% kickback from the loan amounts but failed to report the income to tax authorities.

The fraud resulted in the approval of 38 loan applications, disbursing a total of $4.2 million.

Oloyede used some of the illicit funds to purchase land, build a home, and buy a luxury vehicle.

His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, 62, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison, with similar restitution and forfeiture orders totaling over $1.2 million.

The case was part of a larger investigation by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force, involving multiple federal agencies including the FBI and IRS.

Prosecutors called the conviction a major win in the ongoing battle against pandemic relief fraud.

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“This case underscores our commitment to holding those accountable who exploited a national crisis for personal gain,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office.