US court jails Nigerian pastor over $4.2m COVID-19 fraud as Osun monarch forfeits property

A United States District Court has sentenced Edward Oluwasanmi, a Nigerian pastor, to 27 months in prison for his role in a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme, while his co-defendant, Joseph Oloyede, a traditional ruler in Osun State, has forfeited property linked to the crime.

Oluwasanmi was convicted on Counts 1, 11, and 12 of a 13-count indictment and sentenced by Judge Christopher Boyko of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on July 2, 2025. The court also ordered him to forfeit $1.3 million to the U.S. government. His sentences will run concurrently.

The pastor and Oloyede, who holds the title of Apetu of Ipetumodu, were arrested in April 2024 and later charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property.

According to U.S. prosecutors, between April 2020 and February 2022, the duo submitted fraudulent Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications using falsified tax and wage documents for businesses under their control.

Oluwasanmi reportedly used companies such as Dayspring Transportation Limited, Dayspring Holding Incorporated, and Dayspring Property Incorporated to obtain and misappropriate millions of  dollars for personal use.

In February 2025, both defendants entered guilty pleas and submitted plea bargain agreements. While Oluwasanmi has now been sentenced, judgment in Oloyede’s case is still pending, though sources say properties linked to him in the U.S. have already been seized as part of asset forfeiture proceedings.