Grandson of Notorious Mob Boss John Gotti Sentenced to Prison for Covid-19 Relief Fund Scam and Crypto Investment Scheme

Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for perpetrating a $1.1 million Covid-19 relief fund scam, with the proceeds partly used to invest in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. In a statement released on Monday, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed that Agnello had fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and diverted the funds for personal use, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business. Between April 2020 and November 2021, Agnello submitted false information to the SBA, claiming the proceeds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries. The US Attorney, Joseph Nocella, condemned Agnello's actions, stating that he had 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the pandemic. Agnello is not the only individual to have defrauded the government's Covid relief fund, with other notable cases 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 lost to scams. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who exerted power through brutal violence and amassed a significant fortune from various illicit ventures, including extortion, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and stock fraud, before being found guilty on 13 criminal counts and dying in federal prison at the age of 61.