U.S. Army Employee Accused of Stealing $100 Million to Buy ‘Jewelry, Clothing, Vehicles and Real Estate’

Authorities alleged the woman falsified paperwork to obtain funds from the Army for her organization that claimed to provide "services to military members"

A U.S. Army employee was indicted for allegedly stealing more than $100 million in Army funds, which she is said to have then used to make large personal purchases.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas, announced in a press release on Dec. 6 that 57-year-old Janet Yamanaka Mello, who worked as a civilian financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston, faces 10 counts related to a fraud scheme.

Court documents allege that Mello “regularly” submitted fraudulent paperwork asking for funding from the Army for her Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development (CHYLD) organization, according to the press release. 

Mello claimed in the paperwork that CHYLD “provided services to military members and their families” — and managed to obtain over $100 million in Army funding before authorities were alerted, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

However, the indictment asserted that “CHYLD did not provide any services,” and after obtaining the money Mello used it to buy “millions of dollars” in items such as jewelry, clothing and vehicles along with real estate.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Mello was charged with five counts of mail fraud, four counts of engaging in a monet -

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ary transaction over $10,000 using criminally derived proceeds and one count of aggravated identity theft for allegedly falsifying the digital signature of one of her supervisors “on multiple occasions.”

The agency also noted in its release that if convicted, Mello could face a “maximum penalty of 20 years in prison” for defrauding the Army and “up to 10 years in prison” for spending the fraudulent funds she obtained. If found guilty of falsifying her supervisor’s signature, she could also face a minimum of two years in prison.

The indictment also requested that Mello forfeit the property she allegedly purchased with the fraudulent funds.

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Mello's first scheduled court appearance was on Dec. 14 where she stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Bemporad of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, per the release. The U.S. Attorney's Office noted that “a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”

The IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division are still investigating the case.

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