Carmine Agnello, the grandson of John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a $1.1 million Covid-19 relief fund scam, with the proceeds 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 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 fraud 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.
The US Attorney, Joseph Nocella, stated that Agnello's actions were shameful and that he must repay the funds as part of his sentence. Agnello is not the only individual to have been found guilty of defrauding the government's Covid relief fund, with several high-profile cases resulting in significant financial losses.
According to statistics from the US Government Accountability Office, an estimated $135 billion was lost to scams, representing up to 15% of the total funds. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious mob boss who exerted power through brutal violence and amassed a significant fortune through various illicit ventures, including extortion, gambling, loan-sharking, and stock fraud.