Judge Boyko of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio ordered the release of Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, on a bail of $20,000, following his indictment and arrest for swindling the U.S. government of $4.2 million COVID-19 fraud.

The judge confiscated Mr Oloyede’s U.S. and Nigerian passports as part of the bail conditions pending the outcome of his trial, which might take several months. Mr Oloyede’s U.S. passport bore his full name, Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, with number 562****44, was due to expire June 18, 2027.

His Nigerian passport A08****97 was also seized.

The Osun monarch’s continued absence had stirred worries among the community members of Ipetumodu, especially given that he had missed traditional festivals and rituals believed to be necessary for the spiritual fortification of the land.

Mr Oloyede, 62, conspired with certain persons to scam the American authorities who provided COVID-19 relief to businesses at the brink of collapse during the 2020 pandemic.

Not only did Mr Oloyede falsify documents required to obtain loans, he also assisted his co-conspirators to perpetrate fraud and charged them a percentage of the disbursed loans.

The traditional ruler, versed in accounting, bypassed the loan requirements with the fake documents and did the same for his co-conspirators, to perfect the multimillion-dollar fraud.

Even though the loan was specifically earmarked to pay off fixed debts, payroll and other “permissible” bills for struggling businesses, the FBI found that the royal king squandered the loans on personal expenses.

Mr Oloyede, who often shuttled Cleveland,—where his family resided— and Ipetumodu, returned in 2024 to America where he didn’t know a 13-count fraud indictment was waiting for him. 

Some of the charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

FBI Special Agent Brett Zuck obtained the arrest warrant to nab Mr Oloyede at Bedford Heights in May 2024.

The FBI was seeking an order to seize all properties linked to the proceeds of Mr Oloyede’s fraudulent scheme. 

It is unclear whether the indigenes of Ipetumodu will be willing to wait for their king to fight the case in court or whether traditions will not permit that the royal throne be left vacant for long.