Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, the embattled traditional ruler of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Nigeria, has been ordered by a U.S. federal court to forfeit millions of dollars in assets and funds to the American government.
This development follows his guilty plea to multiple counts of fraud connected to a wide-ranging $4.2 million COVID-19 relief scam, according to Peoples Gazette.
The 62-year-old monarch, who also holds American citizenship, was indicted in April 2024 alongside another Nigerian-American, Edward Oluwasanmi. The pair were accused of masterminding a sophisticated scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of pandemic relief funds during the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
In a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture dated May 5, 2025, Judge Christopher Boyko of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted authorization for the federal government to seize several high-value assets connected to the convicted monarch, according to legal filings reviewed by Peoples Gazette.
The ruling was based on a plea bargain agreement entered by Oloyede on April 24, 2025, in which he admitted guilt to 13 charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and defrauding a federal relief program.
Among the forfeited assets is a residential property in Medina County, Ohio, purchased by the monarch in May 2021 under his wife’s name, Sherri Oloyede. Additionally, $96,006.89 held in a JP Morgan Chase bank account under the name “Joseph Oloyede and Associates Ltd.” will be seized.
Despite the property being registered in his wife’s name, both Mr. and Mrs. Oloyede voluntarily waived their rights to contest the forfeiture as part of the plea deal, which was negotiated to secure a lighter sentence.
The disgraced monarch also relinquished his right to appeal the forfeiture order or seek any restitution in the future.
According to the indictment, the fraudulent activities occurred between April 2020 and February 2022—a time when the U.S. government implemented several emergency relief packages, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, under the CARES Act, to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Oloyede manipulated these programs by filing fraudulent loan applications in the names of six businesses he either owned or controlled. These companies included: Joseph Oloyede & Associates (JO&A), Available Transportation, Available Tax Services, Available Tutors, Available Financial, as well as other unnamed shell entities.
On October 7, 2021, JO&A received $500,000 in relief loans based on falsified tax and payroll documents. Just two days later, Available Transportation received another $500,000. In June 2020 alone, four of Oloyede’s companies fraudulently secured over $100,000 in federal aid.
In addition to benefiting his own companies, the Apetu of Ipetumodu also filed false loan applications on behalf of co-conspirators, charging a commission for every successful payout. In total, Oloyede secured $1.7 million for his own firms and assisted others in acquiring an estimated $1.3 million. Oluwasanmi’s entities received $1.2 million, bringing the total fraud to approximately $4.2 million.
Oba Oloyede was arrested on May 4, 2024, following the execution of a sealed court warrant. Unaware of the pending 13-count indictment against him, he had returned to the United States. Following his arrest, he was granted bail set at $20,000, with stringent conditions that included the surrender of both his U.S. and Nigerian passports.
His American passport, bearing number 56244, and Nigerian passport, number A0897, are now in the custody of federal authorities pending his sentencing.
The monarch’s legal troubles have sent shockwaves through his hometown of Ipetumodu, where he was enthroned as Apetu in 2019. His consistent absence—particularly during key cultural and religious festivities such as Odun Egungun and Odun Edi—has effectively rendered the royal seat vacant for nearly a year.
Community elders and residents have expressed deep concern over the void in leadership and spiritual oversight traditionally provided by the monarch.
Local reports reveal that Oba Oloyede was declared missing in early 2024, only to later be found in FBI custody in the U.S. His dual roles as a monarch and practicing accountant, frequently shuttling between Cleveland, Ohio, and Nigeria, helped him conceal his fraudulent operations over time.
