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 funding scam, with the proceeds partially used to invest in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. In a statement, the US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office 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 proceeds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries. US Attorney Joseph Nocella stated that Agnello 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the pandemic.
Agnello is not the only individual to have defrauded the government's Covid relief fund, with other notable cases including Bruce Choi, who illegally obtained $2 million in pandemic-related business loans, and David T. Hines, who fraudulently obtained $3.9 million.
According to the US Government Accountability Office, fraud against Covid-related relief funds was widespread, with approximately $135 billion lost to scams. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a powerful figure in the Gambino crime family, with estimated annual earnings of $500 million from various ventures, including extortion, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and stock fraud. He was found guilty on 13 criminal counts in 1992 and died in federal prison at the age of 61.