The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Nigerian US-based Pastor Edward Abiodun Oluwasanmi.
He was arrested for allegedly conspiring with Osun monarch, Oba Joseph Oloyede, to defraud the U.S. government of $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
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Oluwasanmi, alongside Oloyede, allegedly submitted forged documents to apply for the loans intended to support struggling businesses during the pandemic.
The pastor used his three companies—Dayspring Property Incorporated, Dayspring Holdings, and Dayspring Transportation—to secure millions of dollars, which he later diverted for personal expenses, violating U.S. federal laws. The Nigerian pastor, who resides in the U.S., was indicted on a 13-count fraud charge and arrested in Cleveland in April. He was later released on $20,000 bail under the condition that he appear for trial and serve any prison sentence if convicted.
In September 2020, Oluwasanmi transferred approximately $221,880 to purchase commercial property on South Freen Road in South Euclid, Ohio. On October 26, 2021, he transferred $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds to his company, Dayspring Transportation’s brokerage account. Prosecutors have seized around $620,000 from Oluwasanmi, and they are seeking to forfeit that amount, along with other properties acquired through the fraudulent activities.
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The FBI also seized $599,250 from his Dayspring Transportation account at Fidelity Investments and nearly $20,000 from his Dayspring Property account at Key Bank, both on April 5, 2024. To ensure his appearance in court, Oluwasanmi’s U.S. and Nigerian passports have been confiscated. His U.S. passport lists him as Edward Olanrewaju Abiodun Oluwasanmi, with passport number 58*****76, and his Nigerian passport number is A10****31.
As part of his bail agreement, Oluwasanmi will be re-arrested if he fails to appear in court for his trial. His case, alongside that of Oba Oloyede, adds to a long list of Nigerian fraudsters convicted and incarcerated in the U.S. Earlier, Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun’s associate, Bidemi Rufai, was released from a U.S. correctional facility after serving time for similar crimes. Other notable Nigerians, including Omobolanle Bombata (aka Bobo Chicago), Wale Ogundana, and Ramon Ray ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, have also faced fraud charges and imprisonment in the U.S.
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