A woman who was accused of stealing $100 million in funds from the US Army is being allowed to retire with full benefits. Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, is currently under criminal investigation for the alleged crime. She is said to have used the stolen funds to purchase over 30 houses, luxury cars, and jewelry over the span of seven years.
The military went on to explain that there is nothing they can do to withhold Mello's benefits from her because they're protected under a federal law that was held up in government bureaucracy.
“The command has no authority to impact Ms. Mello’s retirement,” a spokesperson for the Army explained. “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.”
Mello's attorney, Albert Flores, says that his client has full rights to her retirement benefits. “She earned it. I don’t see how one thing is related to the other,” he said in reference to the ongoing investigation.
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The attorney went on to say that he expects the case to be resolved quickly. According to him, his client has been “very cooperative” in turning over assets.
Mello worked as a civilian financial program manager at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas. In 2016, she reportedly created a fake business called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, which she used to rake in the funds she received from the Army to keep for herself.
In her positions, she was paid $130,000 per year. Flores says that Mello will likely sell some of the luxury items she purchased in order to reimburse officials.
Her income was flagged as suspicious by the IRS in 2017 when she included the business on personal tax returns. However, she was not denied any of her benefits despite her criminal activity.
Mello's retirement plan is covered by the Federal Employee Retirement Service, including a basic benefit plan, Social Security, and a savings plan. A press release from the Department of Justice in December 2023 said that she “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 December 2023, she was arrested and charged with five counts of mail fraud, four counts of engaging in a monetary transaction over $10,000 using criminally derived proceeds, and one count of aggravated identity theft. She was later released without bail. If found guilty, she faces a maximum prison sentence of 142 years.
