The Governor Ademola Adeleke-led Osun State government is set to depose the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Oloyede, following his sentencing for more than four years in prison in the United States.

According to Leadership, the Osun State government had weeks ago said it will only decide the monarch’s fate after his trial in the US.

Oba Oloyede was on Tuesday jailed 56 months by a US District Judge Christopher A. Boyko over $4.2m COVID-19 fraud.

The monarch, 62, was convicted on charges of conspiracy to exploit COVID-19 emergency loan programmes created for struggling businesses.

Oloyede holds dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio.

In a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio on Tuesday, the monarch, was also ordered to “serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution

“He also forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, which he had acquired with proceeds of the scheme, and an additional $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds investigators had seized.

“From about April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, conspired to submit fraudulent applications for loans that were made available through the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” the statement read.

In April, the duo pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax fraud charges linked to a pandemic relief scam that siphoned over $4.2m in federal stimulus funds.

The court was told that Oloyede, who also worked as a tax preparer, “operated five businesses and one nonprofit, while Oluwasanmi owned an additional three business entities.

“Both defendants used their businesses to submit loan applications using false information.

“They obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities,” the statement added.

According to investigators, “Oloyede submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications in the names of some of his clients and their businesses.

“In exchange, Oloyede would receive 15-20% of their loans as the fee, or kickback, for obtaining the loans for them, without reporting this income to the IRS on his own tax returns.”

The funds were then used for personal gain, prosecutors said.

“Investigators learned that the defendant used funds obtained from these loans to acquire land and build a home and purchase a luxury vehicle,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office disclosed.

In all, Oloyede “caused the SBA to approve 38 fraudulent applications, amounting to $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances.”