Carmine Agnello, the grandson of infamous mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a Covid-19 relief fund scam and cryptocurrency investment scheme. According to the Department of Justice, Agnello fraudulently obtained $1.1 million in disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration, which he then used for personal gain, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business.
The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office stated that 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. The fraud occurred during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Agnello shamelessly using government and taxpayer dollars for his own benefit. This case is not isolated, as numerous individuals have been convicted of defrauding the government's Covid relief fund, including Bruce Choi, who illegally obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans, and David T.
Hines, who fraudulently obtained $3.9 million. According to the US Government Accountability Office, an estimated $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total Covid relief funds, was lost to scams.
Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who exerted power through brutal violence and was eventually convicted on 13 criminal counts, dying in federal prison in 1992.