Nigerian pastor jailed by US court over $4.2m COVID-19 fraud

Edward Oluwasanmi, a Nigerian pastor, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for defrauding the US government of $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

Oluwasanmi was arrested alongside Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun state, in April 2024 over the crime.

The duo were charged in court on 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property.

According to the charge sheet, from April 2020 through February 28, 2022, Oloyede and Oluwasanmi submitted Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) applications containing false information for companies under their control.

They also allegedly submitted falsified tax and wage documents to support these applications.

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.

In February 2025, the duo 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.

Boyko 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.