SAN ANTONIO
Janet Yamanaka Mello, a civilian Army employee, was sentenced Tuesday to 180 months in prison for stealing over $108 million from a grant program meant for military dependents and their families. She was convicted of five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing false tax returns.
Mello, 57, worked as a financial program manager for the U.S. Army’s Installation Management Command – G9 Child and Youth Services (CYS) at Fort Sam Houston.
From December 2016 to August 2023, she created a business called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development (CHYLD) to fraudulently receive funds from the 4-H Military Partnership Grant program.
“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. “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. Her actions reflect exactly the opposite of what it means to serve your country, and my office will continue to work tirelessly to prosecute those who illegally seek personal gain at the expense of their fellow citizens.”
Mello deposited the grant checks into her bank account and spent the money on personal luxuries, including clothing, jewelry, vehicles, and real estate.
Over six years, she requested approximately $117 million and received about $108.9 million. Additionally, Mello failed to report millions of dollars in fraudulent income on her tax returns for 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Simmons, Antonio Franco, Kristy Callahan, Todd Keagle, and Steven Seward prosecuted it.