Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has received a 15-month prison sentence for his role in a $1.1 million Covid-19 relief fund scam, with the proceeds partly used to invest in cryptocurrency ventures, according to the Department of Justice. In a statement, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed that Agnello fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and used the funds to invest in cryptocurrency. Agnello allegedly diverted approximately $420,000 of the proceeds for personal use, including investments in a cryptocurrency business.
The fraudulent activities occurred between April 2020 and November 2021, during which time Agnello submitted false information to the SBA, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens. US Attorney Joseph Nocella condemned Agnello's actions, stating that he 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' 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 illegally obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans to purchase cryptocurrency, and David T. Hines, who fraudulently obtained $3.9 million to buy 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 notorious figure who exerted power through brutal violence and amassed a fortune estimated to be around $500 million annually from various illicit ventures, including extortion, loan-sharking, and stock fraud.