The FBI has arrested Nigerian pastor Edward Abiodun Oluwasanmi for allegedly conspiring with a traditional ruler, Oba Joseph Oloyede, to defraud the U.S. government of $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds. According to prosecutors, Oluwasanmi and Oloyede submitted forged documents to obtain pandemic relief loans meant to assist struggling businesses.
The pastor allegedly funneled the funds through three of his companies—Dayspring Property Incorporated, Dayspring Holdings, and Dayspring Transportation—before diverting them for personal expenses. Court documents reveal that in September 2020, Oluwasanmi used $221,880 from the fraudulent funds to purchase commercial property in South Euclid, Ohio.
A year later, on October 26, 2021, he transferred $1 million in relief funds into his company’s brokerage account. Federal authorities have seized approximately $620,000 from Oluwasanmi’s assets and are pursuing forfeiture of other properties linked to the scheme.
On April 5, 2024, the FBI confiscated $599,250 from Dayspring Transportation’s Fidelity Investments account and nearly $20,000 from Dayspring Property’s Key Bank account. Oluwasanmi was indicted on a 13-count fraud charge and arrested in Cleveland in April.
He was released on a $20,000 bail under strict conditions, including the surrender of his U.S. and Nigerian passports to prevent him from fleeing. His U.S. passport identifies him as Edward Olanrewaju Abiodun Oluwasanmi. If he fails to appear in court for his trial, he will be re-arrested and could face additional charges.
Oluwasanmi and Oloyede’s case is the latest in a series of high-profile fraud convictions involving Nigerians in the U.S. Recently, Bidemi Rufai, an associate of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, was released from prison after serving time for a similar crime. Others, including Omobolanle Bombata (aka Bobo Chicago), Wale Ogundana, and the infamous Ramon “Hushpuppi” Abbas, have also been convicted of fraud in the U.S.
