Carmine Agnello, the reality-TV-star grandson of late mob boss John Gotti, was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining $1.1 million in federal pandemic-relief loans meant for small businesses. Federal Judge Nusrat Choudhury imposed the sentence in U.S. District Court on Long Island, along with a requirement that Agnello repay the funds and perform 100 hours of community service.
Agnello, who appeared as a teenager on the A&E reality series “Growing Up Gotti” during the mid-2000s, became one of many individuals convicted of fraudulently accessing the Small Business Administration’s COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
The Fraud Scheme
Agnello obtained the loans on behalf of Crown Auto Parts & Recycling LLC between April 2020 and November 2021, prosecutors said. The company had ceased operations before he applied for and received the bulk of the funds.
Rather than using the money for the stated business purpose, Agnello invested $420,000 in a cryptocurrency business and used the remainder for other purposes, prosecutors said. On his loan applications, Agnello falsely stated that he had no criminal record and provided inaccurate information about the number of people his business employed and his intended use for the funds.
Background and Criminal History
After appearing as a teenager on “Growing Up Gotti” with his mother and two brothers, Agnello dropped out of college, co-owned several junkyards with his siblings, and began operating an online automotive parts retailer.
Before the loan fraud conviction, Agnello faced two prior criminal convictions. In 2009, he was convicted of disorderly conduct for possessing a banned gravity knife. In 2018, he was convicted of a misdemeanor for operating an unregistered salvage operation.
The Kidney Donation Bid
Agnello’s sentencing had been rescheduled in March after he announced plans to donate a kidney to his mother, Victoria Gotti, the daughter of the late Gambino crime family boss. He sought to avoid prison as a reward for the donation. The donation has not occurred.
Sentencing and Statements
After pleading guilty in September 2024 to wire fraud, Agnello was sentenced in April. Judge Choudhury ordered him to begin serving his sentence on July 20 and to remain under court supervision for two years after his release. He must also receive mental health treatment for issues including gambling addiction.
“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendant shamefully lined his own pockets with government and taxpayers’ dollars,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. Prosecutors had sought a sentence ranging from 33 to 41 months.
At his sentencing, Agnello told the judge, “I carry a great deal of guilt and shame for my actions,” calling the scheme “wrong, selfish and criminal.”
His lawyer, Steven Metcalf, had submitted a sentencing memorandum arguing that Agnello “resisted being defined by the show, and has strived to make his own stamp” through his interests in bodybuilding, music, and cars. Metcalf wrote that “despite growing up in one of America’s most scrutinized families, Carmine exhibited the importance of creativity, reinventing oneself, and always personal growth.”