Carmine Agnello, grandson of infamous mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a $1.1 million COVID relief fund scam, with a portion of the funds invested in cryptocurrency, according to the Department of Justice. 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, using 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. The US Attorney's office stated that Agnello 'diverted the proceeds for his personal use, including by investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business.' Agnello will begin his prison sentence on July 1 and has been ordered to repay the funds as part of his sentence. The case is one of several instances of COVID relief fund fraud, with statistics from the US Government Accountability Office indicating that roughly $135 billion, or up to 15% of the total funds, were 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.