Janet Yamanaka Mello, a 57-year-old Army civilian employee in Texas, faces a federal indictment for allegedly stealing over $100 million from a fund designed to assist military children. As a financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston, Mello is accused of diverting funds from the 4-H Military Partnership Grant program to a shell company she created, which falsely claimed to provide services to military families. Instead, the funds were used for personal luxuries like jewelry, clothing, and real estate. The indictment includes charges of mail fraud, engaging in monetary transactions with criminal proceeds, and aggravated identity theft. Mello faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for each fraud charge and is scheduled for a court appearance on December 14.

More Info: https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2023-12-07/army-manager-fraud-farm-kids-12284715.html