Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in defrauding the US government's Covid-19 relief funding system of $1.1 million, with at least half of the proceeds being invested in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. In a statement released by the US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office, it was revealed that Agnello had fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and used the funds for personal gain, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business. The scheme involved submitting false information to the SBA between April 2020 and November 2021, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens. US Attorney Joseph Nocella stated that Agnello 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the height of the pandemic.
Agnello's case is not an isolated incident, as numerous individuals have been found guilty of defrauding the government's Covid relief fund, with statistics from the US Government Accountability Office suggesting that up to 15% of the total funds were lost to scams. The sentencing of Agnello serves as a reminder of the need for vigilance in preventing such fraudulent activities, particularly in times of crisis.