Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a $1.1 million Covid-19 relief fund scam, with at least half of the funds invested in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office stated that Agnello fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the government's Small Business Administration and used the proceeds for personal gain, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business. Between April 2020 and November 2021, Agnello submitted false information to the SBA, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries.
The US Attorney, Joseph Nocella, criticized Agnello's actions, stating that he '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 found guilty of defrauding the government's Covid relief fund, including Bruce Choi, who illegally obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans to buy cryptocurrency, and David T. Hines, who fraudulently obtained $3.9 million and used some of the proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini.
According to the US Government Accountability Office, an estimated $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total Covid-19 relief 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.