Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has received a 15-month prison sentence for his role in defrauding the US government's Covid relief funding system out of $1.1 million, with a substantial amount being invested in cryptocurrency. According to the Department of Justice, Agnello fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and utilized the funds for personal gain, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business.
The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office stated that Agnello submitted false information to the SBA between April 2020 and November 2021, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens. The fraudster is set to begin his imprisonment on July 1.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella condemned Agnello's actions, stating that he 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the height of the pandemic. The case is not an isolated incident, as numerous individuals have been found guilty of defrauding the government's Covid relief fund, including Bruce Choi and David T.
Hines, who used the funds to purchase cryptocurrency and a Lamborghini, respectively. According to the US Government Accountability Office, an estimated $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total funds, was lost to scams.
Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who exerted power through brutal violence and was eventually found guilty on 13 criminal counts, dying in federal prison at the age of 61.