Grandson of Notorious Mob Boss John Gotti Sentenced to Prison for $1.1 Million Covid-19 Relief Scheme and Crypto Investment

Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has received a 15-month prison sentence for his role in defrauding the US government's Covid-19 relief funding system of $1.1 million, which he partially used to invest in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that Agnello had fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and utilized the funds for personal gain, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business. Agnello submitted false information to the SBA between April 2020 and November 2021, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries. The US Attorney, Joseph Nocella, stated that 'during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendant shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars, which he must repay as part of today's sentence.' The US Postal Inspection Service's New York Division Inspector in Charge, Larco-Ward, added that 'Mr. Agnello defrauded a program designed to assist businesses and employees during the pandemic.' Agnello's case is not an isolated incident, as several individuals have been found guilty of defrauding the government's Covid relief fund, including Bruce Choi, who illegally obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans to buy cryptocurrency, and David T. Hines, who fraudulently obtained $3.9 million and used some of the proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini. According to statistics from the US Government Accountability Office, Covid-related relief fund fraud was widespread, with approximately $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total funds, lost to scams. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who exerted power through brutal violence and enjoyed the spotlight, with his enterprises allegedly earning him around $500 million annually from ventures including union extortion, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and stock fraud. In 1992, Gotti was found guilty on 13 criminal counts and sentenced to federal prison, where he died of cancer at the age of 61.