The U.S. Department of Justice disclosed that Carmine Agnello, grandson of mob boss John Gotti, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for defrauding approximately $1.1 million in COVID-19 relief funds and investing some of the money 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, falsely claiming they were for his auto parts and recycling business operations, but 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 behavior occurred during the peak of the pandemic and constituted 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)