Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has received a 15-month prison sentence for perpetrating a $1.1 million Covid relief fund scam, with the proceeds partially used for cryptocurrency investments, 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, diverting the funds for personal use, including a $420,000 investment in a cryptocurrency business.
Between April 2020 and November 2021, Agnello submitted false information to the SBA, claiming the loans 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 pandemic. Agnello is not the only individual to have scammed the government's Covid relief fund, with others, such as Bruce Choi and David T. Hines, also facing charges for similar crimes.
According to the US Government Accountability Office, an estimated $135 billion in Covid-related relief funds was lost to scams, accounting for up to 15% of the total funds. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a powerful figure in organized crime, earning an estimated $500 million annually from various illicit ventures before being sentenced to federal prison in 1992.