Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a $1.1 million Covid relief and cryptocurrency scheme. According to the Department of Justice, Agnello fraudulently obtained disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and used the funds to invest in cryptocurrency businesses.
The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office stated that Agnello diverted the proceeds for personal use, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business. The fraud took place 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 case is part of a larger issue of Covid relief fund fraud, with statistics from the US Government Accountability Office indicating that up to 15% of the total funds were lost to scams.
Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who exerted power through violent means and was eventually found guilty on 13 criminal counts, dying in federal prison in 2002.