Carmine Agnello, the grandson of the late mob boss John Gotti and a former reality television star, has reported to federal prison to begin serving a 15-month sentence for fraud. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed on Tuesday that Agnello, 40, checked into the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in southern New Jersey on Monday.
Agnello had previously attempted to stave off his incarceration by claiming he intended to donate a kidney to his mother, Victoria Gotti, who suffers from chronic kidney disease. Although U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury had initially granted a delay until September 18—anticipating the surgery would occur by August 10—the judge ultimately ordered Agnello to surrender immediately after no operation was scheduled.
In her ruling, Judge Choudhury stated that because there was no concrete evidence that a transplant would take place between the date of the order and September 18, 2026, the request for another deferral was unjustified.
The defense had sought more time, with attorney Robert Beltrani arguing in a letter that surgeons needed to address recurring infections in Victoria Gotti before a transplant could proceed. Beltrani noted that it was undisputed that Agnello was a "great match" for his mother and requested that the court allow him to remain available to her while doctors determined if and when the surgery could move forward.
Victoria Gotti, an author and former New York Post columnist, is the daughter of the former head of the Gambino crime family.
Federal prosecutors strongly objected to the delay, pointing to a medical report that indicated doctors were still working to identify the etiology and proper treatment for Gotti’s infections. Joseph Nocella, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, argued that because the infections were not fully treated, the transplant surgery was not imminent. Neither the U.S. Attorney’s office, Agnello’s legal team, nor Victoria Gotti provided further comment on the matter.
Agnello’s imprisonment follows his 2024 guilty plea to wire fraud. Prosecutors alleged that he fraudulently obtained $1.1 million in federal loans through a program designed to assist small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the government, Agnello applied for the loans on behalf of his company, Crown Auto Parts & Recycling LLC, but provided false information regarding the company's employee count, his own criminal history, and his intended use for the funds.
Prosecutors stated that the business had ceased operations before the loan application, and the money was instead diverted to other ventures, including a $420,000 investment in a cryptocurrency business.
Agnello first rose to public prominence as a teenager on the reality show "Growing Up Gotti," which followed his family's life on Long Island. His grandfather, John Gotti, was famously known as the "Teflon Don" and "Dapper Don" for his flamboyant style and his ability to evade criminal convictions for years. The elder Gotti died in a Missouri federal prison in 2002 at age 61.
The New Jersey facility where Agnello is now incarcerated has held several notable inmates, including former New York Congressman George Santos, who served less than three months of a seven-year sentence there before receiving clemency from President Donald Trump last year.
