US Military employee who stole practically $109 million to purchase mansions and luxurious automobiles is sentenced

A Texas lady who pleaded responsible to expenses of stealing practically $109 million from a youth improvement program for kids of army households and utilizing it to fund an extravagant way of life that included a number of mansions, a fleet of luxurious automobiles and designer equipment was sentenced Tuesday to fifteen years in federal jail.

Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, was sentenced by US District Choose Xavier Rodriguez after pleading responsible in March to 5 counts of mail fraud and 5 counts of submitting a false tax return.

Prosecutors say Mello, a civilian worker at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, stole the cash and used it to buy one lavish merchandise after one other, together with $923,000 of jewellery in a single day in 2022.

Mello was a monetary supervisor who dealt with funding for a youth program on the army base and decided whether or not grant cash was accessible. She created a fraudulent group known as Little one Well being and Youth Lifelong Growth, prosecutors mentioned.

“Janet Mello betrayed the belief of the federal government company she served and repeatedly lied in an effort to complement herself,” mentioned US Lawyer Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.

“Relatively than $109 million in federal funds going to the care of army youngsters all through the world, she selfishly stole that cash to purchase extravagant homes, greater than 80 automobiles and over 1,500 items of jewellery,” Esparza mentioned.

Protection legal professional Albert Flores mentioned Mello is deeply remorseful.

“She realizes she dedicated a criminal offense, she did fallacious and may be very ashamed,” Flores mentioned.

Flores mentioned Mello has saved many issues she purchased with the cash and hopes the gadgets are offered to reimburse the federal government. “I don’t assume the courtroom gave us sufficient credit score for that, however we will’t complain,” Flores mentioned.

The protection has no plans to enchantment, he mentioned.

Prosecutors mentioned Mello used the pretend group she created to use for grants by the army program. She stuffed out greater than 40 purposes over six years, illegally receiving practically $109 million, assistant US Lawyer Justin Simmons wrote in a courtroom doc asking for Mello to be sentenced to greater than 19 years in jail.

Mello used the cash to purchase tens of millions of {dollars} of actual property, clothes, high-end jewellery and 82 automobiles that included a Maserati, a Mercedes, a 1954 Corvette and a Ferrari Fratelli bike.

Brokers executing a search warrant in 2023 discovered lots of the automobiles with useless batteries as a result of they’d not been operated in so lengthy, Simmons wrote.

Prosecutors mentioned Mello was in a position to steal a lot due to her years of expertise, knowledgeable data of the grant program, and gathered belief amongst her supervisors and colleagues.

“Mello’s penchant for extravagance is what introduced her down,” mentioned Lucy Tan, performing particular agent in command of the IRS Prison Investigation’s area workplace in Houston.

A co-worker and buddy of Mello’s, Denise Faison, defended Mello in a letter to the choose.

“Janet Mello is an effective, sort, caring and loving individual that might do no hurt to anybody,” Faison wrote. “Janet has a lot extra to supply the world. Please enable her to repay her debt to society by returning what she has taken however not be behind jail bars.”

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