Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has received a 15-month prison sentence for his role in defrauding the US government's Covid-19 relief funding system of $1.1 million, with the proceeds partially used to invest 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 secured multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration under false pretenses and utilized the funds for personal gain, including a $420,000 investment in a cryptocurrency business.
Between April 2020 and November 2021, Agnello submitted false information to the SBA, claiming the funds were intended for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries. The US Attorney, Joseph Nocella, stated that Agnello's actions were shameful, as he exploited government and taxpayer funds for personal gain during 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, including Bruce Choi, who obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans for non-existent companies and used the funds to purchase cryptocurrency. According to the US Government Accountability Office, approximately $135 billion, or 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 estimated annual earnings of $500 million from various illicit activities, including extortion, loan-sharking, and stock fraud. In 1992, Gotti was convicted on 13 criminal counts and sentenced to federal prison, where he died of cancer at the age of 61.