A Texas woman, Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for embezzling nearly $109 million from a grant program intended to support military children and families. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced the sentencing on Tuesday.
Mello, a former civilian employee for the Army, held the position of financial program manager for the Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. She was responsible for managing funds for the 4-H Military Partnership Grant program, which provides services for military families. However, Mello exploited her role to embezzle funds over a period of six years, from December 2016 to August 2023.
Court documents revealed that Mello created a fraudulent business, Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, to apply for and obtain over 40 grants from the military grant program. She used the stolen funds to finance a lavish lifestyle, purchasing high-end jewelry, luxury vehicles, and real estate. Her fraudulent activities included mail fraud and filing false tax returns, to which she pleaded guilty in March.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
Mello’s scheme went undetected by the U.S. Army for six years, allowing her to misappropriate substantial federal funds meant to support military children and their families.
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