Thursday, February 20, 2025 - The FBI has arrested Nigerian Pastor Edward Abiodun Oluwasanmi for allegedly conspiring with Osun monarch, Oba Joseph Oloyede, to defraud the U.S. government of $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Oluwasanmi, alongside Oloyede, allegedly submitted forged
documents to apply for the loans intended to support struggling businesses
during the pandemic.
Oluwasanmi used his three companies—Dayspring Property Incorporated,
Dayspring Holdings, and Dayspring Transportation—to secure millions of dollars,
which he later diverted for personal expenses, violating U.S. federal laws. The
Nigerian pastor, who resides in the U.S., was indicted on a 13-count fraud
charge and arrested in Cleveland in April. He was later released on $20,000
bail under the condition that he appear for trial and serve any prison sentence
if convicted.
In September 2020, Oluwasanmi transferred approximately $221,880 to
purchase commercial property on South Freen Road in South Euclid, Ohio. On
October 26, 2021, he transferred $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds to his
company, Dayspring Transportation’s brokerage account. Prosecutors have seized
around $620,000 from Oluwasanmi, and they are seeking to forfeit that amount,
along with other properties acquired through the fraudulent activities.
The FBI also seized $599,250 from his Dayspring Transportation account
at Fidelity Investments and nearly $20,000 from his Dayspring Property account
at Key Bank, both on April 5, 2024. To ensure his appearance in court,
Oluwasanmi’s U.S. and Nigerian passports have been confiscated. His U.S.
passport lists him as Edward Olanrewaju Abiodun Oluwasanmi, with passport
number 58*****76, and his Nigerian passport number is A10****31.
As part of his bail agreement, Oluwasanmi will be re-arrested if he
fails to appear in court for his trial. His case, alongside that of Oba
Oloyede, adds to a long list of Nigerian fraudsters convicted and incarcerated
in the U.S. Earlier, Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun’s associate, Bidemi Rufai, was
released from a U.S. correctional facility after serving time for similar
crimes. Other notable Nigerians, including Omobolanle Bombata (aka Bobo
Chicago), Wale Ogundana, and Ramon Ray ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, have also faced fraud
charges and imprisonment in the U.S.
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