When COVID-19 relief funds began flowing in 2020, U.S. prosecutors say Abiodun Oloyede saw an opportunity not to help struggling businesses, but to enrich himself. The 49-year-old tax consultant from Richmond Heights, Ohio, has now been sentenced to six years in federal prison for engineering a fraud scheme that siphoned off millions of dollars meant for pandemic recovery.
According to court records, Oloyede leveraged his position as a trusted financial professional to submit dozens of bogus loan applications under the CARES Act, exploiting programs designed to keep workers employed during the shutdown. Investigators say the scale of the scheme stretched into the millions before it was uncovered.
Prosecutors said he and his partner, Ohio pastor Edward Oluwasanmi, submitted 38 bogus claims to the Small Business Administration (SBA) between April 2020 and February 2022, securing more than $4.2 million meant for struggling small businesses.
According to investigators, Oloyede falsified payrolls, created fake employees, and coached others on how to inflate their claims. Oluwasanmi used the scheme to obtain funds for his own businesses, while both men spent much of the money on personal expenses.
Sentencing and Restitution
At Monday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko imposed a 72-month prison term, three years of supervised release, and ordered Oloyede to pay over $4.2 million in restitution. Prosecutors had sought nearly nine years, but the court granted a lower sentence after considering his health problems and previously clean record.
Still, Judge Boyko stressed that Oloyede’s expertise as a tax professional showed the fraud was calculated and damaging.
His co-conspirator, Oluwasanmi, 62, was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution of more than $1.2 million. He also forfeited property and over $600,000 in seized funds.
A Pattern of Abuse
The case is part of a sweeping federal crackdown on pandemic-related fraud. The U.S. Justice Department has charged thousands of individuals accused of exploiting emergency programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). Authorities estimate that billions were stolen nationwide.
In Oloyede’s case, prosecutors argued the scheme not only drained public funds but also deprived legitimate businesses of critical lifelines. “This was not a mistake, it was a deliberate abuse of public trust at a time of national crisis,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Brydle told the court.
What Comes Next
After serving his prison sentence, Oloyede will remain under federal supervision for three years. Any violation of his release terms, including new offences or unauthorised travel, could see him returned to custody. He has not yet said whether he will appeal.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, the FBI’s Cleveland Division, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force.
Wider Impact
Cases like Oloyede’s highlight how pandemic relief programs, launched quickly in 2020, became a target for fraudsters both in and outside the United States. With prosecutions still unfolding, the Justice Department has pledged to pursue every lead until stolen taxpayer money is recovered.
For Oloyede, the verdict marks a steep fall from trusted professional to convicted felon. For U.S. authorities, it is one more reminder that pandemic fraud remains one of the country’s largest financial crimes in recent memory.
