Former Army Worker Who Stole Nearly $109 Million Sentenced
A former U.S. Army civilian employee is sentenced for stealing nearly $109 million from a federal grant program that was supposed to help children of military families.
57-year-old Janet Yamanaka Mello was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors say she used the stolen funds to lead a luxurious lifestyle that included buying millions worth of real estate, expensive jewelry, and 82 vehicles including a Maserati, a Mercedes, and a 1954 Corvette.
Grant Scheme
Mello worked as a financial program manager for the U.S. Army’s Child and Youth unit at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
During her employment, Mello formed a business called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development.
Prosecutors say Mello used her position as program manager to arrange for grant money from the 4-H Military Partnership grant program to be awarded to her shell business. Once receiving a check, Mello deposited it into her bank account.
According to documents, Mello filed 49 applications over six years, requesting $117 million in payments and receiving almost $109 million.
“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.”
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) played a key role in bringing down the scheme.
“Mello's penchant for extravagance is what brought her down. We identified that her reported income was well below the lavish lifestyle she lived. As we uncovered the details, the criminal scheme grew, the dollar amount grew, and the reach of her spending grew," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of IRS Criminal Investigation's Houston Field Office.
Mello pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return.
IRS CI and Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigated the case.