Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has received a 15-month prison sentence for his role in defrauding the US government's Covid-19 relief funding system of $1.1 million, with a substantial amount used to invest in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. A statement released by the US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office revealed that Agnello secured multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) through fraudulent means and utilized the funds for cryptocurrency investments. According to the attorney's office, Gotti's grandson diverted the proceeds for personal use, including investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business.
Agnello, who is set to begin his prison term on July 1, submitted false information to the SBA between April 2020 and November 2021, claiming the funds were intended for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries. United States Attorney Joseph Nocella stated, 'During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendant shamelessly used government and taxpayers' dollars for his personal gain, which he must repay as part of today's sentence.' USPIS Inspector in Charge Larco-Ward added, 'Mr. Agnello defrauded a program designed to assist businesses and employees during the pandemic.' Agnello is not an isolated case, as several individuals have been found guilty of defrauding the government's Covid relief fund. Notable cases include Bruce Choi, who illegally obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans for non-existent companies and used the funds to purchase cryptocurrency via Kraken, and David T.
Hines, who fraudulently obtained $3.9 million from similar relief funds and used some of the proceeds to buy a Lamborghini. According to statistics from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), Covid-related relief fund fraud was widespread, with approximately $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total funds, lost to scams. Agnello's grandfather was known for his brutal violence and high-profile lifestyle, running the Gambino enterprise, which authorities claimed generated roughly $500 million annually from ventures including union extortion, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and stock fraud. In 1992, Gotti was convicted on 13 criminal counts and sentenced to federal prison, where he died of cancer at the age of 61.