Former US Army Civilian Employee Sentenced to 15 Years for Stealing Nearly $109 Million

A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to charges of stealing nearly $109 million from a youth development program for children of military families and using it to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included multiple mansions, a fleet of luxury cars, and designer accessories was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison. Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez after pleading guilty in March to five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return. Prosecutors say Ms. Mello, a civilian employee at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, stole the money and used it to purchase one lavish item after another, including $923,000 of jewelry in a single day in 2022....