Former San Antonio Army Employee Receives 15-Year Sentence For Major Fraud
In San Antonio, Texas Janet Yamanaka Mello, previously a civilian financial program administrator for the U.S. Army, received a 15-year federal prison sentence in July 2024. This penalty stemmed from her orchestration of an enormous deception operation that siphoned nearly $109 million from government coffers. Mello, known as the "Gucci Goddess" due to her extravagant expenditures, admitted culpability to five charges of mail fraud and five charges of submitting a false tax declaration. Officials disclosed that Mello, 57, established a sham entity named "Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development" (CHYLD) and submitted deceitful documents over a six-year period. She asserted the organization furnished services to military personnel and their relatives. In actuality, CHYLD provided no such aid, and Mello rerouted the purloined funds for her personal indulgence. Her lavish acquisitions encompassed millions of dollars in properties, over 80 automobiles (including hig...