A United States court has received a fresh plea for leniency from the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, who admitted guilt in a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud scandal that stunned both Nigeria and the U.S.

In a sentencing memorandum filed on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, before Judge Christopher Boyko of the Northern District of Ohio — which was exclusively obtained by Peoples Gazette — the monarch, through his lawyers, acknowledged his guilt but argued that the coronavirus pandemic was a major factor that pushed him into committing the crime.

“COVID-19 affected all of us differently. Conduct that we would never expect from ourselves or others sometimes manifested itself as we encountered a completely different society. COVID-19 is not an excuse. But it is a factor. Particularly when, as did Joseph, one had to worry that pre-existing health problems could now become fatal if the virus was contracted,” the document quoted his counsel as saying.

Mr Oloyede, 62, was arrested by the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in May 2024 after he disappeared from Nigeria two months earlier, raising concerns in his hometown of Ipetumodu where he was absent during important traditional festivals, including Odun Egungun and Odun Edi. The Gazette had earlier reported that he was picked up in Cleveland on charges of using six companies to file fraudulent loan applications under the U.S. Paycheck Protection Programme and Economic Injury Disaster Loan schemes.

Court filings showed that the monarch, who emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1990s and later earned a doctorate, had for decades maintained a clean record, working as an adjunct professor and banker before returning home to be installed as the Apetu of Ipetumodu in July 2019. His lawyers insisted that the fraud was a sharp departure from his previous life of service and responsibility, adding that he showed remorse and accepted blame for his actions.

Following his arrest, U.S. prosecutors said he laundered part of the proceeds through personal and business accounts, prompting the government to seize a Medina County property in Ohio and more than $96,000 from one of his company’s bank accounts.

He was later granted bail after surrendering both his U.S. and Nigerian passports but remained under restrictions pending final judgment.

The monarch, who is a father of six and foster parent to other children, now faces sentencing scheduled for August 26, 2025, after the court postponed an earlier hearing to review his sealed medical records.

Back home in Osun State, Nigeria, his prolonged absence has left Ipetumodu without an active monarch, raising questions about succession and the vacuum created by his ordeal.