A Nigerian pastor named Edward Oluwasanmi has been sentenced to just over two years in a United States prison after he was found guilty of scamming the U.S. government out of $4.2 million meant for COVID-19 relief.
Oluwasanmi was arrested in April 2024 along with Joseph Oloyede, a traditional ruler from Ipetumodu in Osun State, Nigeria. They were both accused of several crimes, including wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering, and using money gained illegally.
U.S. court records revealed that between April 2020 and February 2022, both men submitted fake applications for government COVID-19 support loans. They used fake tax and salary records to back up their claims and applied through companies they controlled.
Oluwasanmi used three businesses — Dayspring Transportation Limited, Dayspring Holding Incorporated, and Dayspring Property Incorporated — to get millions of dollars in loans. Instead of using the money as intended, it was spent on personal things, which is against U.S. law.
In February 2025, both men admitted to some of the charges and agreed to a deal with the court.
On July 2, 2025, Judge Christopher Boyko, from the U.S. District Court in Ohio, sentenced Oluwasanmi to 27 months in prison. The sentence covers three of the charges and will be served all at once.
The judge’s ruling stated, “Defendant sentenced to 27 months on Counts 1, 11 and 12 of the indictment, to be served concurrently.”
Besides going to jail, Oluwasanmi must also return $1.3 million to the U.S. government. As for his co-accused, Joseph Oloyede, the court has not given a final judgment yet.
