Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a Covid-19 relief fund scam, in which he fraudulently obtained $1.1 million from the US government's Small Business Administration, according to the Department of Justice. The funds were then used for personal gain, including investments in cryptocurrency, with approximately $420,000 allocated to a crypto business.
Agnello submitted false information to secure the loans, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens. The US Attorney's office condemned Agnello's actions, stating that he 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the pandemic. This case is not an isolated incident, as numerous individuals have been caught 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 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 powerful figure in the Gambino crime family, with an empire that generated approximately $500 million annually from various illicit activities, including extortion, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and stock fraud. He was eventually found guilty on 13 criminal counts and died in federal prison at the age of 61.