The US Army permitted multi-millionaire con artist Janet Mello to retire with full military retirement benefits despite her alleged theft of more than $100 million intended for military families and their children. She allegedly purchased eighty luxury vehicles and thirty-one houses using illicit funds. Military families and children were supposed to benefit from the funds. Colorado, Washington, Maryland, and New Mexico were among Mellow’s residences.
After pleading not guilty upon his December arrest, Mello will return to court in February. Meanwhile, her benefits as a retired public servant are still available. The military conceded that they couldn’t take it away from her because she was shielded by a federal statute that got stuck in bureaucratic red tape.
To prove that Mello’s lavish lifestyle was manifestly out of proportion to her $130,000 annual government pay, federal prosecutors have put roughly 80 cars and 31 homes spread across five states up for seizure. In 2017, she said that training consultations brought in $2,152 for her business, CHYLD, and they made $483. But she hasn’t submitted any tax returns ever since.
According to the records, Mello obtained almost $100,000,000 by routinely filing bogus paperwork and depositing grants into her fictitious organization.
A jewelry collection, a fleet of 78 automobiles, over $18 million in many bank accounts associated with her, and a real estate portfolio of 31 properties were reportedly acquired by Mello using the stolen monies. A 58-acre mansion in Maryland with eight bedrooms and a 55-car garage is listed for about $3.1 million, while a house in San Antonio, Texas, with over $1.1 million in sales price, is among the premium offerings.
Those assets and any others Mello may have acquired illegally must be forfeited. Each fraud allegation has a potential sentence of 20 years in prison for Mello.
Each spending statute offense carries a sentence of up to 10 years in jail. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a minimum sentence of two years in prison.
