SAN ANTONIO – A civilian employee accused of stealing more than $100 million from the U.S. Army was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison.
The sentencing comes four months after Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, pleaded guilty to 10 charges in the case — five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return, the U.S. Department of Justice said. She was also forced to hand over money and goods she received as a result of the crime.
Authorities said Mello was a civilian financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston.
She stole more than $100 million in Army funds by claiming Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development provided services to military members and their families, therefore receiving money from the Army, a news release states.
Authorities said Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, which Mello controlled, did not provide services to that community.
Mello was accused of regularly submitting false paperwork that claimed the services and also falsifying the digital signature of one of her supervisors multiple times. Prosecutors said Mello used the funds to buy jewelry, clothing, vehicles, and real estate.
The DOJ said that Mello didn’t accurately report her income from 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, omitting millions of dollars of income she fraudulently received through CHYLD.
“Janet Mello betrayed the trust of the government agency she served and repeatedly lied in an effort to enrich herself,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “Rather than $109 million in federal funds going to the care of military children throughout the world, she selfishly stole that money to buy extravagant houses, more than 80 vehicles and over 1,500 pieces of jewelry. Her actions reflect exactly the opposite of what it means to serve your country, and my office will continue to work tirelessly to prosecute those who illegally seek personal gain at the expense of their fellow citizens.”
Watch below: Images of assets seized by government in $100M Army fraud case against ‘Gucci Goddess’ Janet Mello
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