A United States District Court has sentenced Nigerian pastor Edward Oluwasanmi to 27 months in prison for his involvement in a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
Meanwhile, his co-defendant, Joseph Oloyede, a traditional ruler in Osun State, has forfeited property connected to the crime.
Oluwasanmi was convicted on Counts 1, 11, and 12 of a 13-count indictment. He received his sentence from Judge Christopher Boyko of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on July 2, 2025. In addition to his prison term, the court ordered Oluwasanmi to forfeit $1.3 million to the U.S. government. The sentences handed down on the three counts will run concurrently.
Both Oluwasanmi and Oloyede, who holds the traditional title of Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, were arrested in April 2024. They were subsequently 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 pair submitted fraudulent applications under the Paycheck Protection Programme and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan scheme. These applications included falsified tax and wage documents for businesses they controlled.
Oluwasanmi reportedly used companies such as Dayspring Transportation Limited, Dayspring Holding Incorporated, and Dayspring Property Incorporated to secure and divert millions of dollars meant for pandemic relief into personal expenditures.
In February 2025, both men pleaded guilty and entered into plea bargain agreements with prosecutors. While Oluwasanmi has now received his sentence, judgment in Oloyede’s case remains pending. However, sources confirm that properties in the U.S. linked to Oloyede have already been seized under asset forfeiture proceedings.