Saturday, July 5, 2025 - Edward Oluwasanmi, a Nigerian pastor, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison by a United States court for defrauding the U.S. government of $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Oluwasanmi was arrested in April 2024 alongside Joseph
Oloyede, the traditional ruler of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Nigeria. Both were
charged with 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy
to defraud, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions involving
criminally derived property.
According to court documents, between April 2020 and
February 28, 2022, Oluwasanmi and Oloyede submitted fraudulent applications for
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans
(EIDLs), using companies they controlled. The applications included false
information and were supported by fabricated tax and wage documents.
Oluwasanmi used his companies, Dayspring Transportation
Limited, Dayspring Holding Incorporated, and Dayspring Property Incorporated,
to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars. The funds were later diverted to
personal expenses, in violation of U.S. federal laws.
In February 2025, both defendants pleaded guilty to select
charges and entered into plea agreements.
On July 2, Judge Christopher Boyko of the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Ohio sentenced Oluwasanmi to 27 months in
prison on counts 1, 11, and 12 of the indictment. The judge ordered that the
sentences be served concurrently.
“Defendant sentenced to 27 months on Counts 1, 11 and 12 of
the indictment, to be served concurrently,” the judgment read.
In addition to the prison term, Oluwasanmi was ordered to
forfeit $1.3 million to the U.S. government. The court has not yet ruled in the
case against Joseph Oloyede, who remains the first defendant in the matter.
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