Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a Covid-19 relief fund scam, in which he fraudulently obtained $1.1 million from the US government's Small Business Administration. According to the Department of Justice, Agnello used at least half of the funds to invest in cryptocurrency businesses. The US Attorney's Eastern District of New York office revealed that Agnello submitted false information to secure multiple disaster relief loans, claiming the funds were for his autoparts and recycling business in Queens.
Instead, he diverted the proceeds for personal use, including a $420,000 investment in a cryptocurrency business. Agnello's actions were denounced by United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, who stated that he 'shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars' during the height of the pandemic. The case is not an isolated incident, as statistics from the US Government Accountability Office indicate that up to 15% of Covid-related relief funds, approximately $135 billion, were 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 illicit activities, including extortion, loan-sharking, and stock fraud.