By Michael V. Cusenza
Carmine G. Agnello, grandson of the late Gambino Crime Family boss and Howard Beach resident John Gotti, pleaded guilty on Monday to wire fraud in connection with his receipt of approximately $1.1 million in small business loans under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.
Congress created the EIDLP as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Enacted on March 29, 2020, the CARES Act provided emergency financial assistance in connection with economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the EIDLP, which provided low-interest financing to small businesses, renters and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters.
As set forth in court filings, between April 2020 and November 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Agnello, 38, fraudulently applied for, and received, at least three EIDLP loans totaling approximately $1.1 million that he submitted on behalf of Crown Auto Parts & Recycling, LLC, a Jamaica-based business that he operated. As part of the scheme, Agnello submitted documentation to the Small Business Administration and financial institution responsible for disbursing the funds, that falsely claimed he had no criminal record when, in reality, he had a 2018 misdemeanor conviction. Agnello also submitted false information about the number of employees that worked for Crown and the intended use of the loan proceeds. Instead of using the funds for disaster relief, Agnello diverted them for his personal use, including by investing approximately $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business.
“The defendant shamefully used the public health and economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to line his pockets with stolen funds,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The reality is, those who engaged in blatant theft of taxpayer dollars intended to assist legitimate businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic should know that despite the passage of time, there is no free pass for their crimes and they will be vigorously prosecuted by the Office.”
“Postal Inspectors will relentlessly pursue any individuals who scheme to defraud the government and steal taxpayer funds. We, along with our law enforcements partners, will not end this pursuit of justice until those who take advantage of the U.S. Mail to commit fraud are held fully accountable. Today’s guilty plea is proof of that fact,” USPIS Inspector in Charge Daniel Brubaker.
With Monday’s plea, Agnello, the son of Victoria Gotti and Ozone Park native Carmine Agnello, follows in his father’s footsteps. In July 2015, the senior Agnello was arrested in Cleveland on charges that included theft, money laundering, conspiracy, drugging animals before competition, cruelty to animals and corrupting sports following an 18-month investigation focusing on Agnello’s scrap metal operation and horse-racing activities. In 2001, Agnello was sentenced to nine years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $10 million in assets for another scrap metal business scheme. He was released in 2008.
When sentenced, Carmine G. Agnello, faces up to 30 years in prison, as well as restitution totaling more than $940,000 and a fine of up to $2.2 million.
