Former US Army civilian employee sentenced to 15 years for stealing nearly $109 million
A Texas woman who was a civilian employee of the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for stealing nearly $109 million from a youth development program for children of military families.
Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in federal court in San Antonio after pleading guilty in March to five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return.
Prosecutors say Mello, as financial manager who handled funding for a youth program at the military base, determined whether grant money was available. She created a fraudulent group called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development.
“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.
