Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for orchestrating a COVID-19 relief fund scam, which netted him $1.1 million. According to the Department of Justice, Agnello used a significant portion of these funds to invest in cryptocurrency ventures.
In a statement, the US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office revealed that Agnello had fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration, claiming the funds were for his Queens-based autoparts and recycling business. However, he diverted approximately $420,000 of the proceeds to invest in a cryptocurrency business. The fraud occurred between April 2020 and November 2021, with Agnello submitting false information to the SBA, including claims that the funds were for employee salaries.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella condemned Agnello's actions, stating that he had '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 caught defrauding the government's COVID-19 relief funds.
According to the US Government Accountability Office, an estimated $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total relief funds, was lost to scams. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who exerted power through brutal violence and amassed a significant fortune through various illicit activities, including extortion, loan-sharking, and stock fraud. He was eventually found guilty on 13 criminal counts and died in federal prison in 2002.