US-based Nigerian pastor, Edward Oluwasanmi, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

Joseph Oloyede, 61, of Medina, Ohio and Edward Oluwasanmi, 61, of Willoughby, Ohio, were charged in court on 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering offences.

The indictment sheet revealed that Oloyede and Oluwasanmi submitted Paycheck Protection Programme, PPP, loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, EIDLs, applications containing false information for companies under their control from April 2020 through February 28.

Oluwasanmi reportedly used his companies – Dayspring Transportation Limited, Dayspring Holding Incorporated, and Dayspring Property Incorporated – to obtain millions of dollars, which he later diverted for personal expenses in violation of US federal laws. The duo also allegedly submitted falsified tax and wage documents to support these applications.

In February 2025, Oloyede and Oluwasanmi pleaded guilty to some of the offences and submitted plea bargain agreements. On July 2, Christopher Boyko, the trial judge at the US District Court of Ohio Eastern Division, sentenced Oluwasanmi to 27 months imprisonment on counts 1, 11, and 12 of the charges. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

The trial judge also ruled that the pastor should forfeit the sum of $1.3 million to the US government.

“Defendant sentenced to 27 months on Counts 1, 11 and 12 of the indictment, to be served concurrently,” the judge ruled.

The court is yet to deliver judgment in the case against Oloyede, the first defendant in the suit.