Photo: Federal court documents
A woman who is accused of defrauding the U.S. Army out of $100 million has been granted a full civil servant retirement package, the San Antonio Express-News reports.
Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, a former civilian financial program manager at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, who remains under criminal investigation, claims she "earned" her full retirement benefits, despite being accused of using funds illegally obtained from the U.S. Army to purchase more than 30 homes, cars and jewelry during a scheme that lasted seven years. An Army spokesperson confirmed that the branch cannot withhold Mello's benefits from her as they are protected under a federal law.
“The command has no authority to impact Ms. Mello’s retirement,” an Army spokesperson told the San Antonio Express-News. “In accordance with 5 U.S. Code Section 8312, an individual may be denied an annuity or retired pay on the basis of the service of the individual, if the individual is convicted of treason, rebellion or insurrection, or other similar offenses. There is no similar statutory authority for denying retired pay based on a conviction of other offenses.”
Albert Flores, an attorney representing Mello, claims his client "earned" her retirement benefits in a statement to the San Antonio Express-News.
“She earned it. I don’t see how one thing is related to the other,” Flores said of the ongoing criminal investigation, which he claims Mello has been "very cooperative" with in turning over assets and predicted would be quickly resolved.
Flores admitted that he expects Mello to sell some of the luxury possessions she purchased through the scheme in order to reimburse officials. The former civilian financial program manager created a business called "Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development" in order to siphon funds received from the Army to her personal account and was flagged by the IRS when it was included on her 2017 personal tax return.
The Department of Justice claims Mello “allegedly stole more than $100 million in Army funds by regularly submitting fraudulent paperwork that indicated an entity she controlled was entitled to receive funds from the Army" in a press release shared in December 2023.