Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a Covid relief fund scam, in which he fraudulently obtained $1.1 million from the US government's Small Business Administration and invested a significant portion in cryptocurrency ventures, according to the Department of Justice. The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office revealed that Agnello submitted false information to secure multiple disaster relief loans, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries. Instead, he diverted approximately $420,000 to a cryptocurrency business for personal gain.
Agnello will begin his prison term on July 1. The case is part of a larger pattern of fraud against the government's Covid relief funds, with statistics from the US Government Accountability Office indicating that up to 15% of the total funds were lost to scams, totaling roughly $135 billion. Agnello's actions have been condemned by authorities, with US Attorney Joseph Nocella stating that he 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the pandemic. The grandson of the infamous mob boss, known for his brutal violence and extortion rackets, has followed in his family's footsteps, albeit in a different manner, by engaging in white-collar crime.