Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in the Ife North Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria was on Tuesday sentenced to 56 months imprisonment in the United States court for $4.2 million COVID funds-related fraud.
The 62 year old traditional ruler holds both US and Nigerian was sentenced by US District Judge Christopher A. Boyko after he pleaded guilty to the charges, according to a statement Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Oloyede pleaded guilty to one count of the count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property and two counts of making and subscribing to a false tax return.
Aside from the 56 months imprisonment, Oloyede would also serve three years of supervised release and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution to his victims.
He is also to forfeit his home in the US, which, according to court documents, he acquired with proceeds of the scheme.
He will also forfeit $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds already seized by investigators.
Oloyede’s co-conspirator in the fraud, Edward Oluwasanmi was sentenced to 27 months in prison till July 2027.
“He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay a $15,000 fine, and pay more than $1.2 million in restitution. Oluwasanmi also forfeited much of the proceeds he received from the scheme, including a commercial property on Green Road in South Euclid that he acquired with fraud proceeds, and more than $600,000 he had transferred to financial accounts,” the court document indicated.