Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a Covid-19 relief fund scam, in which he deceived the US government out of $1.1 million and invested a substantial amount in cryptocurrency. According to the Department of Justice, Agnello fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and diverted the funds for personal use, including a $420,000 investment in a cryptocurrency business. The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office revealed 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 will begin his prison term on July 1.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella stated that Agnello '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 relief fund, including Bruce Choi, who obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans for non-existent companies and used the money to buy cryptocurrency. The US Government Accountability Office estimates that roughly $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total Covid relief funds, were lost to scams.
Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who exerted power through brutal violence and amassed a fortune through various illicit ventures, including extortion, illegal gambling, and stock fraud.