Carmine Agnello, grandson of notorious mob boss 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 and invested at least half of it in cryptocurrency ventures, according to the Department of Justice. The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office stated that Agnello submitted false information to secure multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries. However, he diverted approximately $420,000 of the proceeds for personal use, including cryptocurrency investments.
Agnello will begin his prison term on July 1. The case is part of a larger issue of Covid-19 relief fund fraud, with statistics from the US Government Accountability Office indicating that up to 15% of the total relief funds, roughly $135 billion, were lost to scams.
Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a powerful figure in organized crime, earning an estimated $500 million annually from various illicit ventures before his conviction and death in federal prison.