Gambino Boss’s Grandson Sentenced for $1.1M COVID Loan Fraud Linked to Crypto Scandal!

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Late Gambino Boss John Gotti’s Grandson Sentenced to 15 Months for $1.1M COVID Loan Fraud Tied to Crypto Firm

Carmine G. Agnello Jr., the grandson of the late mob boss John J. Gotti, received a 15-month prison sentence after being convicted of fraudulently obtaining $1.1 million in COVID-19 relief loans from the Small Business Administration.

Key Takeaways:

  • Carmine Agnello, grandson of Gambino boss John Gotti, received a 15-month federal prison sentence on April 20, 2026.
  • Agnello diverted roughly $420,000 of $1.1 million in fraudulent SBA EIDL funds into a cryptocurrency business.
  • U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. signaled the Eastern District of New York will continue prosecuting COVID-19 relief fraud cases.

Gambino Family Descendant Gets Prison Time for Diverting COVID Funds Into a Crypto Company

U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury imposed the sentence in federal court in Central Islip, New York. Agnello, 39, of Smithtown, New York, must also pay $1,268,302 in restitution to the SBA, serve two years of supervised release following his release from prison, and complete 100 hours of community service. The sentence came below federal guidelines, which pointed to a range of roughly 31 to 44 months.

Anthony Agnello ran Crown Auto Parts and Recycling in Jamaica, Queens. From April 2020 to November 2021, he filed at least three false applications for low-interest disaster loans offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the CARES Act, a program designed to help small businesses struggling during the pandemic. As a result, he received a total of $1.1 million.

Carmine Agnello, the grandson of Gambino boss John Gotti.

To obtain the funds, Agnello misrepresented the number of employees at Crown, falsely described how the loan proceeds would be used, and claimed he had no criminal record. He had a 2018 New York State misdemeanor conviction at the time. The SBA and associated financial institutions wired the money to bank accounts he controlled. Instead of using the funds for payroll, rent, or operating expenses, Agnello diverted the proceeds for personal benefit, including investing approximately $420,000 into a cryptocurrency business.

Agnello pleaded guilty on Sept. 26, 2024, before Judge Choudhury to one count of wire fraud. The charge carried a maximum of 30 years in prison. At sentencing, his defense noted personal circumstances, including his role as a kidney donor to his mother, Victoria Gotti. After court, Agnello told NBC New York reporters, “It’s alright, it could be worse.” Prosecutors framed the conduct as a deliberate misuse of taxpayer funds during a national crisis.

According to U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr., the defendant improperly used pandemic relief funds intended for struggling businesses and workers for personal gain. Nocella stated his office will continue to prosecute those who defrauded these programs. Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, highlighted the successful collaboration between postal inspectors and other law enforcement agencies in this case. The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with support from Homeland Security Investigations.

Agnello is publicly known as a reality TV personality from the mid-2000s A&E series “Growing Up Gotti,” which followed the family of his grandfather, John Gotti. His grandfather rose to the top of the Gambino crime family in 1986 after helping orchestrate the assassination of boss Paul Castellano outside a Manhattan steakhouse in December 1985.

John Gotti was different from typical mafia bosses – he actually sought out publicity, often appearing in public dressed sharply and at prominent events. This earned him the nicknames “Dapper Don” and, later, “Teflon Don” because he successfully fought off several federal charges in the late 1980s. Ultimately, in 1992, prosecutors were able to convict him of racketeering and murder using surveillance recordings and the testimony of his former second-in-command, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano.

The former mob boss died in prison in 2002. Agnello’s case centers on pandemic relief fraud and is unrelated to organized crime matters involving his late grandfather and other Gotti family members. The cryptocurrency business that Agnello invested in is not publicly named in any official court documents.

According to a CBS News report, Agnello’s defense counsel stated in a pre-sentencing memorandum that the cryptocurrency expenditures amounted to “a form of gambling driven by an addiction to cryptocurrency trading,” a pattern Agnello has since addressed through treatment.

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2026-04-22 00:27