Carmine G. Agnello Jr., grandson of late Gambino boss John J. Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration of about $1.1 million in pandemic relief funds and steering roughly $420,000 into a cryptocurrency business.
U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury handed down the sentence in federal court in Central Islip, New York. Agnello, 39, of Smithtown, must also pay $1,268,302 in restitution to the SBA, serve two years of supervised release after prison, and complete 100 hours of community service. The sentence came in below the federal guideline range of about 31 to 44 months.
Fraudulent EIDL applications brought in the full $1.1 million
Prosecutors said Agnello operated Crown Auto Parts and Recycling, LLC in Jamaica, Queens. Between April 2020 and November 2021, he submitted at least three fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans through the SBA program created under the CARES Act. He received the full $1.1 million.
Authorities said he misrepresented the number of employees at the company, falsely described how the loan proceeds would be used, and claimed he had no criminal record. At the time, he had a 2018 New York state misdemeanor conviction. The SBA and related financial institutions wired the money into bank accounts he controlled, but the funds were not used for payroll, rent, or operating costs. Part of the money was redirected for personal benefit, including an investment of about $420,000 into a crypto business.
Guilty plea entered in 2024, crypto firm not identified in court records
Agnello pleaded guilty on Sept. 26, 2024 to one count of wire fraud before Judge Choudhury. That charge carried a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. During sentencing, the defense pointed to personal circumstances, including his role as a kidney donor to his mother, Victoria Gotti. After the hearing, Agnello told NBC New York, “It’s alright, it could be worse.”
The cryptocurrency business that received the funds was not named in public court documents. According to CBS News, defense counsel said in a pre-sentencing memorandum that the crypto spending amounted to “a form of gambling driven by an addiction to cryptocurrency trading,” and said Agnello had since addressed that pattern through treatment.
Eastern District says COVID relief fraud prosecutions will continue
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said Agnello “shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers’ dollars” intended to help legitimate businesses and workers during the pandemic. Nocella said the office will keep pursuing people who stole from the relief programs. U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward said the case reflected what postal inspectors and law enforcement partners can do together. The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.
Agnello is also known publicly from the A&E reality series Growing Up Gotti. Court reporting on the case stated that the matter concerns pandemic relief fraud and is unrelated to organized crime cases involving his late grandfather or other members of the Gotti family.