By Prosper Olayiwola
While delivering the sentence, Justice Boyko remarked that Oloyede was a “very smart guy who did a lot of stupid things,” noting that the punishment could have been more severe if not for the monarch’s health conditions.
Oba Oloyede, who has lived in the U.S. for years and worked as an accountant and information systems expert, was installed as the Apetu of Ipetumodu in July 2019. 
He was arrested in early 2024 alongside Nigerian pastor Edward Oluwasanmi.
Both men were implicated in a coordinated scheme to fraudulently obtain pandemic relief funds.
They faced 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its broader crackdown on pandemic-related financial crimes.
