US Woman Embezzled Army Grant Funds Of IDR 1.7 Trillion For Luxury Life Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison

UNSPLASH/Colin Watts ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - A woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for embezzling more than 109 million US dollars (equivalent to Rp1.7 trillion) from a grant program meant to support children and military families, authorities said.

As reported by CBS News, Wednesday, July 24, Janet Yamanaka Mello (57) was convicted of five counts of letter fraud in addition to five charges of filing a false tax return that she made for six years while working in the United States Army, according to the US Attorney's office for the Western District of Texas.

Mello works as a financial manager for the Army's Moral, Welfare and Recreation programs in Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, which specifically focuses on child and adolescent services, the US Attorney's office said.

He founded a business in December 2016 called Children's Health and the Development of Youth Life which was basically used as a cover for fraud.

Raising funds through a military grant initiative was the only business goal, Mello fraudulently raised millions of dollars through the initiative because of his position in the Army.

Instead of using the grant money given to his business to provide services for teenagers and families claimed to be offered by Children's Health and Youth Life Development, Mello deposited a grant check into his personal bank account.

"He then spent the money on various luxurys, including clothes, vehicles and real estate," said the prosecutor.

Mello allegedly used grant money to buy luxury properties and 82 vehicles including Maserati, Mercedes, Corvette in 1954, and Ferrari's Fratelli motorcycle and in one case used the funds to buy 923.000 US dollars in jewelry in one day in 2022, Associated Press reported.

In 49 cases of fraud during the six-year period where its business operates, authorities said Mello requested a grant payment of 117 million US dollars during that period and received nearly 109 million US dollars.

To cover up the fraud, he also reported incorrectly his income in the fiscal year 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

"Janet Mello betrays the trust of the government institutions he serves and has repeatedly lied in an attempt to enrich himself," US Prosecutor Jaime Esparza said in a statement.

Instead of being disbursed with $109 million in federal funds to care for military children around the world, he selfishly stole the money to buy luxury homes, more than 80 vehicles, and more than 1,500 jewelry," he continued.

Esparza said his office would continue to work tirelessly to try those who were illegally seeking personal benefits at the expense of their fellow citizens.

Defending lawyer Albert Flores told the Associated Press Mello he was deeply sorry.

"He realized he was committing a crime, he did something wrong and was very embarrassed," Flores said.

He also told AP Mello that he bought a lot of items with embezzlement funds and hoped the items would be resold to reimburse the government's costs. Flores said the defense did not intend to appeal the court's decision, according to AP.