Family members of U.S. mob boss John Gotti sentenced for cryptocurrency-related fraud.

According to Odaily Planet Daily, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced that Carmine Agnello, grandson of mob boss John Gotti, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for defrauding approximately $1.1 million in COVID-19 relief funds and investing some of them in cryptocurrency businesses. Prosecutors stated that between April 2020 and November 2021, Agnello obtained multiple relief loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through false declarations, claiming they were for his auto parts and recycling business operations. He actually misappropriated the funds for personal use, with approximately $420,000 invested in cryptocurrency-related ventures. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York stated that this act occurred during the peak of the pandemic and constitutes a serious misuse of government aid funds. Agnello is expected to begin serving his sentence on July 1st. Furthermore, official data shows that COVID-19 relief fund fraud is a serious problem in the United States, with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimating that approximately $135 billion (about 15% of the total) flowed into fraudulent activities. (CoinDesk)