Grandson of Notorious Mob Boss John Gotti Sentenced to Prison for Covid Relief Fraud and Crypto Scheme

Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a $1.1 million Covid relief funding scam, with at least half of the funds invested in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. In a statement, the US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office revealed that Agnello secured multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration by submitting false information between April 2020 and November 2021. The loans were intended for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, supposedly to cover employee salaries. However, Agnello diverted the funds for personal use, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business. The fraud occurred during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Agnello set to begin his prison term on July 1. US Attorney Joseph Nocella stated, 'During the pandemic, the defendant shamefully used government and taxpayers' dollars for his own gain, which he must repay as part of his sentence.' Agnello's case is not an isolated incident, as numerous individuals have been caught defrauding the government's Covid relief fund, including Bruce Choi, who obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans for non-existent companies and used the funds to buy cryptocurrency. According to the US Government Accountability Office, up to 15% of the total Covid relief funds, approximately $135 billion, were lost to scams. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a powerful figure who ran the Gambino crime family, earning an estimated $500 million annually from various illicit activities. He was found guilty on 13 criminal counts in 1992 and died in federal prison at the age of 61.