Grandson of Notorious Mob Boss John Gotti Sentenced to Prison for Covid-19 Relief Fund Scam and Cryptocurrency Scheme

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 the proceeds partially used to invest in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. In a statement, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed that Agnello had fraudulently obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration and used the funds 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. According to US Attorney Joseph Nocella, 'During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendant shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars, which he must repay as part of today's sentence.' 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 obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans to buy cryptocurrency, and David T. Hines, who used relief funds to purchase a Lamborghini. The US Government Accountability Office estimates that up to 15% of the total Covid relief funds, approximately $135 billion, were 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 ventures, including extortion, loan-sharking, and stock fraud, before being sentenced to federal prison, where he died of cancer at the age of 61.