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A U.S. Army employee has pleaded guilty to defrauding the government after he was accused of stealing $108 million in Army funds to pay for personal items such as jewelry, clothing, cars and homes.
Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, is accused of defrauding the government of $108 million while working as a private financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. After she was indicted in December, she pleaded guilty to all five counts of mail fraud and all five counts of filing a false tax return, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Melo was accused of participating in a fraud scheme in which he regularly submitted fraudulent documents seeking Army funding for the Child Health, Youth and Lifelong Development (CHYLD) organization.
The indictment alleges that Melo’s Childe “did not provide any services” and instead used the funds to purchase millions of dollars in jewelry, clothing, cars, real estate and more.
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Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, pleaded guilty to defrauding the government after she was accused of stealing $108 million in military funds to pay for personal items such as jewelry, clothing, cars and a home. (Getty Images)
According to federal prosecutors, she was initially accused of falsifying supervisors’ digital signatures on multiple emails, five counts of mail fraud, and engaging in financial transactions of more than $10,000 using proceeds of crime.4 He was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft. opportunity.
Mello is accused of starting planning for the military’s 4-H program in 2016, submitting fraudulent documents and accepting checks in a rented UPS mailbox. According to court documents, Melo used the funds to buy expensive meals, designer clothing, 31 properties and about 80 vintage performance cars and motorcycles.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, couriers have nicknamed her the “Gucci Goddess” because of the large number of packages delivered to her home from luxury brands such as Coach, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. .
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Melo has purchased many luxury brand packages from companies such as Coach, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. (Getty Images)
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The U.S. government is investigating 31 properties in her name in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Washington, as well as about 80 motorcycles and $18 million found in six bank accounts.
Mello, who listed Child on his personal income tax return, had his home searched in August after the IRS partnered with Army criminal investigators.
“Despite the large sums of money that went to CHYLD, Defendants’ supervisors trusted Defendants and failed to conduct independent verification of whether CHYLD was actually providing services consistent with the program’s objectives, and defendants and CHYLD The funds authorized and requested by the defendants were used lawfully in accordance with the program’s objectives, according to the San Antonio Express-News. ” Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons wrote in court documents.
