Carmine Agnello, grandson of the notorious John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a Covid relief funding scam, in which he defrauded the US government out of $1.1 million and invested a significant portion 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 obtained multiple disaster relief loans from the Small Business Administration by submitting false information between April 2020 and November 2021. He claimed the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens, including employee salaries, but instead used approximately $420,000 for personal investments in a cryptocurrency business. Agnello is set to begin his prison term on July 1.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella condemned Agnello's actions, stating that he had 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the pandemic. The case is part of a larger pattern of fraud against the government's Covid relief funds, with estimates suggesting that up to 15% of the total funds were lost to scams. Agnello's grandfather, John Gotti, was a notorious figure who headed the Gambino crime family and was eventually convicted on 13 criminal counts, dying in federal prison in 2002.
His enterprises were said to have generated around $500 million annually from extortion, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and stock fraud.