Grandson of mob boss John Gotti sentenced on Long Island for COVID fraud
Carmine Agnello, 40, pleaded guilty to lying on applications for COVID relief and illegally receiving about $1 million in loans
CENTRAL ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- The grandson of mob boss John Gotti was sentenced by a Long Island judge to 15 months in federal prison on Monday.
Carmine Agnello, 40, pleaded guilty to lying on applications for COVID relief and illegally receiving about $1 million in loans.
In addition to the 15 months in prison, Agnello will also have two years of supervised release.
He also has to pay $1,268,302 in restitution.
Agnello will be the 16th member of his family to go to jail. His lawyer says the actual sentence will be shorter.
"The actual time spent on a 15-month sentence now is about four or five months, I expect," lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said.
Agnello admitted to taking over $1 million in COVID relief funds and stated in court that it was "wrong, selfish and criminal."
"His life has been wrecked over the last few years due to his own actions," Lichtman said.
Between April 2020 and November 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Agnello fraudulently applied for, and received, at least three loans totaling about $1.1 million, which he submitted on behalf of Crown Auto Parts & Recycling, LLC, a Queens-based business he operated.
Agnello submitted false information to the SBA about the number of employees who worked for Crown, as well as about the intended use of the loan proceeds, prosecutors said.
Instead of using the funds for Crown, Agnello diverted them for his personal use, including a $420,000 investment in a cryptocurrency business.
"During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendant shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers' dollars, which he must repay as part of today's sentence," said Joseph Nocella, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Victoria Gotti was in federal court for her son's sentencing. His lawyers say he will be donating his kidney to his 63-year-old mother. According to his attorney, that could possibly happen in six to 12 months.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Agnello to two and a half years in federal prison.
He will surrender on July 20.
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
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