Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his involvement in a Covid-19 relief fund scam, where he fraudulently obtained $1.1 million from the US government's Small Business Administration, according to the Department of Justice. The funds were then used for personal gain, including investments in cryptocurrency, with approximately $420,000 going towards a crypto business.
The fraud occurred between April 2020 and November 2021, during which time Agnello submitted false information to secure disaster relief loans, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens. The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office stated that Agnello 'diverted the proceeds for his personal use', and he is required to repay the funds as part of his sentence. This case is not an isolated incident, as statistics from the US Government Accountability Office reveal that up to 15% of the total Covid-19 relief funds were lost to scams, amounting to roughly $135 billion. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a prominent figure in organized crime, with his empire generating an estimated $500 million annually from various illegal activities, including extortion, gambling, and stock fraud.