A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to charges of stealing nearly $109 million from a youth development program for children of military families has received her punishment.

In a story that rocked a Texas military base, a civilian worker for the U.S. Army allegedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars that were meant for military families and spent the money to fund her extravagant lifestyle earning her the nickname the "Gucci Goddess".

57-Year-Old Janet Yamanaka Mello worked as a financial program manager for the U.S. Army, Installation Management Command – G9 (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) Child and Youth Services (CYS) at Fort Sam Houston.

According to a press release, in or around December 2016 through at least August 29, 2023, Mello formed a business she called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development (CHYLD). The sole purpose of CHYLD was to receive grant funds from the 4-H Military Partnership Grant program, which Mello fraudulently secured by way of her position as a CYS financial program manager.

Once Mello received a grant check, she deposited the check into her bank account, spending the money on clothing, jewelry, vehicles and real estate. Court documents indicate that Mello repeated the process 49 times during a six-year period, requesting approximately $117,000,000 in payments, and receiving approximately $108,917,749.

Subsequently, Mello failed to accurately report her income for tax years 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, omitting millions of dollars in income fraudulently received through CHYLD.

Mello's penchant for extravagance is what brought her down.

Mello used the money to purchase one lavish item after another, including more than 31 properties across the country, more than 80 vehicles and over 1,500 pieces of jewelry - $923,000 of jewelry in a single day in 2022.

She plead guilty in March to five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return and was sentenced today to 180 months or 15 years in federal prison on Tuesday (July 23).