News Brief: Nigerian Monarch Jailed 4 Years In U.S. Over $4.2m COVID-19 Fraud The Apetu of Ipetumodu, Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has been sentenced to 56 months (over 4 years) in a U.S. prison for his role in a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. Oloyede, 62, who holds dual citizenship, was convicted of conspiring to submit fraudulent applications for emergency loans under the CARES Act between 2020 and 2022. U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko also ordered him to pay $4.4 million in restitution, forfeit his Medina, Ohio home, and serve three years of supervised release after prison. According to the FBI, Oloyede used his six companies to falsify records and secure loans meant for struggling businesses, diverting funds for personal use. He also assisted others in similar fraud schemes for a fee. #Fraud #COVID19Relief #USJustice

U.S. Justice Dept. Releases Maxwell Interview Transcripts After Backlash The U.S. Justice Department has released transcripts of interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, after criticism over withheld records in the sex-trafficking case. The transcripts reveal Maxwell recalling possible meetings with Donald Trump in the 1990s through her father, media mogul Robert Maxwell. Maxwell, convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein lure underage girls, is serving a 20-year sentence and was recently transferred from a Florida federal prison to a Texas facility. The release follows mounting backlash over the Trump administration’s handling of the case, after earlier refusals to disclose documents fuelled conspiracy theories about a hidden “client list.” Epstein, a financier with ties to global elites, died by suicide in jail in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges. #EpsteinCase #GhislaineMaxwell #USJusticeDept