69 SOUTH
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69 SOUTH
The Gucci Goddess: Inside the $109 Million Military Fraud
Ready for your jaw to hit the floor? We're diving deep into the mind-boggling case of Janet Mello—aka "The Gucci Goddess"—who pulled off one of the largest frauds in U.S. Army history while working as a modest civilian financial manager.
Picture this: a government employee making $130,000 annually somehow manages to divert $109 million meant for military children's programs into her own pockets over seven years. Her secret? Creating a fake organization called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development (CHYLD) that existed as nothing more than a UPS store mailbox and a bank account. While military families lost valuable support programs, Janet was busy building an empire of excess—31 properties across five states, 82 luxury vehicles including Maseratis and Ferraris, and jewelry shopping sprees topping $900,000 in a single day.
The most shocking part isn't just the astronomical sum she stole, but how easily she got away with it for so long. With near-complete control over the grant process and a reputation as a "subject matter expert," Janet exploited catastrophic oversight failures within Army financial systems. Nobody questioned why millions were flowing to her shell organization until the IRS finally noticed her tax returns didn't match her Kardashian-level spending habits. By then, delivery drivers were already nicknaming her "The Gucci Goddess" for her endless designer purchases.
We explore the psychology behind Janet's extraordinary fraud, the failures that allowed it to continue, and what happened when her empire came crashing down. After her arrest, she managed to retire with full benefits before a judge ruled 95% of her pension must go toward restitution, leaving her with just $224 monthly for prison commissary. Now serving 15 years behind bars, Janet's story raises disturbing questions about government accountability and financial controls. Join us for this wild ride through greed, glamour, and the audacity of someone who thought they'd never get caught.
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Disclaimer: All defendants are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. All facts are alleged until a conviction!
Welcome everyone to Podcast 69 South, where we cuss and discuss true crime, cold cases, current events and hot topics, along with our state of society today. This is your trigger warning. Our podcast content is produced for adult listeners, 18 years of age and older. We discuss situations that may be offensive and triggering to some listeners. Sit back, relax and enjoy may be offensive and triggering to some listeners.
Speaker 2:Sit back relax and enjoy. Seven-year-old Janet Mello, this was her first court appearance after being charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. Feds say that she took money that was supposed to go to military members and their families and instead used that money to buy clothes, jewelry, cars, homes, and she allegedly did it while managing a financial program at Fort Sam Houston. If she's convicted, mello would face jail time and also be forced to turn over whatever she got as a result of the alleged crime.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to 69 South everybody. We hope you had a good time. Since the last time I'm your host Chop, and with me always is my beautiful co-host Julie. How are you doing today?
Speaker 3:I'm amazing.
Speaker 1:We are going to dive into a pretty wild juicy scandal with some straight-up unbelievable moments in it, and we are going to be bringing you the heat, as always, bringing you the heat, as always.
Speaker 3:Today we're diving into a story so wild it's going to make your jaw hit the floor. We're talking about Janet Mello, aka the Gucci goddess, a woman who pulled off one of the biggest frauds in US Army history over $100 million stolen, y'all. I'm talking about mansions, maseratis and more bling than a rap video. This ain't just a scam, it's a lifestyle. Janet was living like she was in a Hollywood movie but, plot twist, it was all funded by taxpayer money meant for military kids. So buckle up, because we're about to take you on this wild ride through greed, glamour and some serious audacity.
Speaker 1:Let's get into it, but first a quick shout out to our listeners. If you are loving 69 South, drop us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Follow us on X at 69 South Podcast for all the behind the scenes tea. And we'd like to give a special shout-out to a special listener who is always glued to our podcast little John John, over in Columbus, Indiana.
Speaker 3:Hey, John, John and his mama Laura.
Speaker 1:So who is Janet Mello?
Speaker 3:Now Janet Mello is 57 years old. She was a civilian financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston, a major army base in San Antonio, Texas. This woman wasn't some high-flying general or Pentagon bigwig. She was a regular government employee making about $130,000 a year. Not chump change, but not exactly buy big mansions money either.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that ain't maserati money, but she's got a good job, benefits probably 401k. But, janet, she wanted a whole lot more and not just a little more like millions more. So how does a desk jockey pull off a 109 million dollar heist? Spill that tea for us, julie it all starts in 2016.
Speaker 3:Janet's working in the Child and Youth Services Department at Fort Sam Houston, specifically having handled funds for the 4-H Military Partnership Grant Program. This program is supposed to support kids of military families Think after-school programs, summer camps, stuff to help kids cope when their parents are deployed Noble right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the kind of thing you'd expect to be sacred. I mean, nobody's out here thinking let's go rob the kids' fun, except for Janet.
Speaker 3:Exactly so. Janet creates a fake company called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, or CHYLD. Sounds legit, right, like something that could help kids, but it was a sham. It didn't provide a single service. It was just a bank account and a mailbox at a UPS store in San Antonio, texas. Bank account and a mailbox at a UPS store in San Antonio, texas. Janet's job gave her almost total control over the grant process. She could request funds, draft memos and even approve payments, and she used that power to funnel millions to this child to this child program.
Speaker 1:So she came up with this child thing. Was it something that she came up with, or was it something?
Speaker 3:that was already a deal. No, she came up with the Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development Organization.
Speaker 1:Right and it kind of spells child, if you look at the letters.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but with a Y.
Speaker 1:That's pretty slick.
Speaker 3:So she came up with this organization, made it all legit, went and got her a bank account for it and a mailbox at a UPS store and she was in business.
Speaker 1:And basically just writing checks to herself. I wonder how it goes on unnoticed for so long. Where was the oversight in this at?
Speaker 3:That's the crazy part. Prosecutors said Janet was seen as a subject matter expert in her office. People trusted her. She forged her supervisor's signature or lie about what the funds were for, and the Defense Financial Accounting Service would just send the money. Over six years she requested $117 million and got $108.9 million. That's 49 grants.
Speaker 1:Damn, that's some Ocean's Eleven type scheme and shit, but instead of a casino she's robbing the Army. So what's she doing with all this cash? I'm guessing she's not stashing it under her mattresses or sending kids on vacations.
Speaker 3:Oh no, janet was living. She and her husband, mark Mello, went on a spending spree that would make the Kardashians blush. We're talking 31 properties across five states Texas, colorado, maryland, new Mexico and Washington, colorado, maryland, new mexico and washington. One mansion in preston, maryland, was 3.1 million dollars, with eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and 55 garage spaces 55, who needs that many?
Speaker 1:55 garages. Was she parking in there a tank, an army tank?
Speaker 3:close. She bought 82 vehicles, including a Maserati Gran Turismo and a 1954 Chevy Corvette, a Mercedes-Benz GLS 63 and a Ferrari Fratelli motorcycle and a $239,000 Range Rover Wow, plus 42 motorcycles and a motorhome. And that's not all Over 1,500 pieces of jewelry, some costing as much as $923,000. And this was in a single day's purchase. So there was designer handbags from Gucci, louis Vuitton, coach Delivery drivers were dropping off so many packages. They nicknamed her the Gucci goddess on social media.
Speaker 1:That's wild. I mean, you'd have to have 1,500 pieces of jewelry. You can't be riding around in a Maserati with some goat on a row type shit Dollar store handbag. You know what I mean? Yeah, and nobody's asking questions. I wonder how she's explaining all this to her co-workers. I mean, she makes $130,000 a year but she's driving around, you know quarter million dollar cars.
Speaker 3:Well, get this. She told people her husband was some rich tycoon. An acquaintance said Janet would roll up in a Mercedes or Land Rover flashing expensive jewelry, saying oh, it's a gift from my rich husband. Meanwhile Mark Mello wasn't charged, so either he was clueless or just along for the ride. How can you be clueless?
Speaker 1:There ain't no way. You're clueless Literally $130,000 salary.
Speaker 3:No, just 42 motorcycles a pair, 50 cars I mean you start coming home with Maseratis and shit.
Speaker 1:I'm going to be like babe, what the F is going on? That's some next-level audacity, for sure. But you know what they say live fast and crash hard. So let's talk about how she got caught.
Speaker 3:The IRS. They noticed her tax returns didn't add up. She included C-H-Y-L-D this organization on her personal taxes, but underreported her income for years and 2017, 19, 20, 21, and 22. Her lavish lifestyle was screaming a red flag and Lucy Tan, an IRS special agent, said Mello's penchant for extravagance is what brought her down. In August of 2023, the IRS and Army investigators raided her San Antonio home and the whole scheme was unraveled.
Speaker 1:Tax man always comes a-knocking. Let's dive into the courtrooms and the seizures and what happens when the old Gucci goddess loses her crown.
Speaker 3:Well, we just broke down how Janet Mello scammed the US Army out of $109 million, but in 2023, the IRS and Army investigators crashed her party Chop. What happens next?
Speaker 1:Well, it's kind of like watching the house of cards collapse. In December of 2023, janet gets hit with five counts of mail fraud, five counts of filing false tax returns. Each mail fraud charge carries up to 20 years and each tax charge up to five. I mean that's a potential 125 years in prison. She's looking at spending her golden years behind bars. The thing about it is, if she would have kept doing this and not lived a lavish lifestyle and not been flamboyant about all the shit and money she had, I mean she probably wouldn't have got caught for a little bit longer. Well, I wonder if she had any money stashed back away somewhere, you know?
Speaker 3:I mean you have that much money how can you go through 109 million dollars in so many years? Like I mean, I get it 31 properties, multiple motorcycles, it it's just.
Speaker 1:I bet you she has some good doctors on the payroll. She is probably sleeping heavy on some Xanax bars and not worrying about shit.
Speaker 3:Janet's not going down without a fight, at least not at first. By February of 2024, she signs a plea deal agreeing to plead guilty to all 10 charges. In exchange, she cooperates with the feds, probably hoping for a lighter sentence. Her plea hearing happens in March and she's officially on the hook for $108.9 million in restitution.
Speaker 1:That's like telling her to pay back a small country's GDP. Where's she going to get that type of money? She's already spent it in diamonds and corvettes and they probably seized all that shit.
Speaker 3:Exactly the feds start seizing everything. They take 31 properties, including that Maryland mansion, and a $3.3 million in cash from six bank accounts tied to Janet or the organization C-H-Y-L-D. They even seized three Longhorn cattle she bought because apparently she was out here playing rancher too.
Speaker 1:Longhorn cattle and Maseratis. I bet she was pretending she was Beth off the Yellowstone, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I bet you're right. She was like oh yeah, I'm Beth from Yellowstone now.
Speaker 1:Did they get it all, I wonder?
Speaker 3:Well, prosecutors are still chasing $50 million they haven't recovered. They've sold her primary San Antonio home for $1.2 million and clawed back $700,000 from fraud transfers to family and friends. But Janet, her lifestyle, burned through a lot of the cash and get this. She retired with full benefits after the raid and the army couldn't stop it because it's federal law and the Army couldn't stop it because it's federal law.
Speaker 1:Wait, she stole $109 million, gets caught and still gets a pension from the government. That's like robbing a bank and keeping your 401k.
Speaker 3:Yep. She was getting $4,475 a month in retirement benefits, but in October of 2024, a judge ruled the feds could take 95% of it about $4,251 to go towards restitution. The judge was like why does she need $4,400 a month in prison? She's left with $224 for commissary.
Speaker 1:Commissary for Roman and soap. Probably that's a fall from grace man. So what's the vibe at her sentencing?
Speaker 3:July 2024, san Antonio Federal Courthouse. Janet is sentenced to 15 years in prison 180 months to 15 years in prison 180 months. Us Attorney Esparza rips into her, saying she's betrayed the trust of the government and selfishly stole money meant for military kids. Prosecutors called the CHYLD organization a figment of her own imagination. Her lawyer, albert Flores, tries to soften the blow, saying she's deeply remorseful and wants her assets sold to pay back the government.
Speaker 1:Remorseful. She was remorseful when she got caught. I wonder what everybody, like the public, said about this around that area, like the people that knew her about this around that area, like the people that knew her.
Speaker 3:Oh, people are pissed On. X users are calling her out, saying she stole from taxpayers and military families. One post from American F woman went viral breaking down how Janet set up a fake NGO, which an NGO is a non-government organization.
Speaker 1:Like a non-for-profit type thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but it's not part of the government, and how she bought the homes and the vehicles, and her sentiment was very clear 15 years is not enough. Some folks on Reddit's military thread said she should have gotten 25 years minimum, especially since the money was for kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it does hit different when you think about those kids missing out on the programs that the Army was supposed to be paying for when she's buying her 80th car. Let's dig into the psychology of Janet Mello for a little bit. I mean, what makes you think somebody would risk it all for Gucci bags and Ferraris? I mean it does sound kind of lavish, but Well, first off, she's not your typical criminal mastermind.
Speaker 3:She's a 57-year-old government employee with over 20 years of service. She's not out here running a cartel or hacking systems. She was a trusted insider who saw an opportunity and she took it. It's a mix of greed, entitlement and maybe a touch of delusion. Psychologists who study white collar crime say people like Janet often start small, maybe with a little fudging here or a small transfer there, but when they get away with it it's like a drug the thrill of pulling it off, plus the money creates a feedback loop. Janet was submitting fraudulent grants for seven years. That's not a one-time slip-up, that is a lifestyle.
Speaker 1:So she's hooked on the high of scamming. I mean I can kind of see that a little bit. That makes sense. But what do you mean about the entitlement part?
Speaker 3:Prosecutors hinted at this in court. They said Janet thought she deserved this money. Like she's working hard managing these funds and maybe she felt underappreciated or underpaid. So she creates the child organization and starts siphoning cash, convincing herself it's not really stealing. It's like I'm just taking what I'm owed.
Speaker 1:That's some real mental gymnastics, but I can see it. I mean folks justifying their dirt like I earned this. I mean, what else is going through her head?
Speaker 3:There's also the status angle. Janet wasn't just spending money, she was flaunting it the 82 vehicles, the 1500 pieces of jewelry and the daily Gucci deliveries. She wanted to be seen as a big shot. Sociologists call this the conspicuous consumption. It's not enough to have money, you got to show it off. That's why she's got drivers calling her the Gucci goddess. She's building this persona, this fantasy life.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like she was trying to be the star in her own reality show. But what about her husband, Mark? Do you think he's riding shotgun in his fantasy? There's no way. He's just clueless about that.
Speaker 3:That's murky. Mark Mello hasn't been charged, which suggests that prosecutors don't have enough evidence that he was directly involved. But he's living in these mansions driving these cars. It's so hard to believe he didn't suspect something. Some speculate he turned a blind eye, enjoying the perks without asking questions. Others think Janet kept him in the dark, feeding him the quote-unquote rich husband story. She told everyone else. But what was it? Oh, I got a. My grandpa left me a trust fund, or Maybe she told him she was a. Saudi princess.
Speaker 1:Million dollar sugar daddy or something, I don't know. Man, that's an awful lot of money to be hiding and an awful lot of stuff to be hiding. Maybe he just was having a ball, you think.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah.
Speaker 1:Either way, he's living a dream. Until the feds show up. Let's zoom out. How does a scan this big go undetected for seven years? Where's the Army's accountability?
Speaker 3:That's the real scandal here. The Army's grant system was a mess. Janet had near total autonomy requesting funds, drafting memos, approving payments. Her office saw her as an expert, so nobody double-checked her work. Prosecutors said, and I quote no one ever questioned the submission of the payment request. That's a systematic failure. The Defense Financial Accounting Service was just rubber-stamping her proposals.
Speaker 1:Since financial accounting service was just rubber stamping her proposals. So you're telling me like there's no red flag when $109 million is going to a UPS store mailbox.
Speaker 3:I mean, nobody's like, hey, maybe we should audit this shit. Nope, and it's not just the army. Government fraud is a huge, huge issue. Government fraud is a huge, huge issue. A 2021 GAO report found that federal agencies lose billions of dollars annually to improper payments. Some legit errors, some straight up fraud. Now, Janet's case is extreme, but it's not unique. Weak oversight, outdated systems and overworked staff create loopholes scammers can exploit.
Speaker 1:So after Janet's case blew up, the Army said they're reviewing their grant process, but specifics are scarce. They're probably tightening controls, adding audits, but it's a big bureaucracy, change takes time and meanwhile the damage is done and all those military kids lost out on $109 million worth of programs. It sounds like she had more than one job. Maybe they should have been paying her a little bit more. It sounded like she had control of two or three different ends of the grant system how she was getting away with it.
Speaker 3:Well, she was making $130,000 a year.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's pretty good money.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's not bad money at all, not $109 billion in seven years but. No, not close.
Speaker 1:It's damn near one, ain't it?
Speaker 3:I mean, why do you think that people are so obsessed with this story? It's all over X, reddit and even mainstream news.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I think I was kind of obsessed with it when I heard about it too. It's the audacity for me. I mean Janet's out here stealing money from military kids to buy the Maseratis, and know, I think I was kind of obsessed with it when I heard about it too. It's the audacity for me. I mean Janet's out here stealing money from military kids to buy the Maseratis and trying to live like she's on Yellowstone, plus the Gucci goddess nickname. It's kind of catchy. I think it's got a larger than life vibe that makes you want to know more, in my opinion.
Speaker 3:I also think it taps into a few things. First, there's the outrage factor. People are furious. She stole from a program for kids, and then people are mad because 15 years isn't enough, or how dare she. It's the betrayal of trust, especially since she worked for the army, which is supposed to be about duty and honor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what makes it a little bit harder. Military families sacrifice so much and she's out here treating their kids' funds like a personal piggy bank. What else is driving the fascination, you think?
Speaker 3:The glamour. Janet's lifestyle is straight out of a music video Mansions, cars, jewelry. We're drawn to that excess, even if we're judging it. It's like watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but with a criminal twist and the Gucci, goddess, monica. It's a perfect for, you know, influencer-obsessed culture. She's like a villain in a reality show.
Speaker 1:That's a fact. It's like she's the anti-hero we love to hate. But there's also a how'd she get away with it angle. People are shocked. The army let it slide for seven years. It makes you wonder what else is slipping through the cracks. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Right. It feeds into distrust of institutions. When you hear about $109 million vanishing, you start questioning everything vanishing. You start questioning everything government, military, you name it. And Janet's story is a warning Unchecked power plus opportunity equals disaster. It's a case study in what happens when systems fail.
Speaker 1:All right, let's switch gears. We're going to take some questions from our live listeners on X. We'd like y'all to send us your thoughts on the Gucci goddess, and you delivered, julie what's the first one?
Speaker 3:This one's from TexasTornado22. Do you think Janet Mello planned to get caught, or was she just that arrogant? Great question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't think she planned to get caught, little Texas Tornado. I think she was too deep in the fantasy. I mean seven years of scamming, that's not someone expecting the feds to knock. I think she was too deep into fantasy. I mean seven years of scamming, that's not someone expecting the feds to knock. I think she got arrogant, thought she was untouchable. What do you think, babe?
Speaker 3:I agree she was drunk on power, but I also think she got sloppy. Underreporting her income on taxes was a rookie mistake. If she'd been more careful she might still be out here buying Ferraris. Arrogance and carelessness that's what did her in.
Speaker 1:We got another question from a Southside skeptic what's to deal with her husband? Was he in on it or just clueless?
Speaker 3:We touched on this earlier, but it's a juicy one. Mark Mello wasn't charged illegally he's in the clear but living in a $3.1 million mansion and driving luxury cars, he had to suspect something. My guess is he didn't ask questions because he liked the lifestyle, and there's always plausible deniability.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's probably like don't mess up a good thing. You know what I mean. Don't ask, don't tell. Like the Army once said, oh yeah. Do y'all wonder if the Army has learned its lesson, or is this going to happen again?
Speaker 3:Tough one. The Army's saying they're tightening up, but big bureaucracies move slow Without serious oversight, regular audits, cross-checks, broad detection software. This could totally happen again, not to Janet's level, but maybe smaller scams definitely.
Speaker 1:Like you were saying earlier. Earlier I did see where people were talking good and bad about this, like she was some people's hero and some people's villain. I mean, what kind of legacy you think the gucci goddess is leaving behind with this?
Speaker 3:a cautionary tale at best. Her story is a reminder that greed can blind you and systems need to be airtight. Plus, she's a pop culture moment. Gucci goddess is going to be shorthand for epic scammer for years.
Speaker 1:I do have to say, man, it had me kind of dreaming and you know, just a little bitty part of me was wishing I had 80 motorcycles and 55 car garages.
Speaker 3:Well, that's normal, doesn't it? I mean, a lot of people wish they had I'm not saying excessive amounts of stuff like that, but I guess it's like how everybody likes the Scarface movie.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. Not everybody wants to go out here and sell kilos of cocaine, but everybody wants the power and the money, and you know what I mean.
Speaker 3:And that's what it was for her.
Speaker 1:That's exactly what a lot of the people that are talking about this and was kind of giving her props like you go girl. I've seen some people saying shit like that on there.
Speaker 3:But you know for me the betrayal. You know Janet wasn't just stealing money, she was stealing from military kids whose parents are deployed overseas for months and years at times, who need these programs, and these programs are focused to help these children cope with the stress of their parents being gone and stuff like that and the fact that the Army systems let this go for seven years. That's a wake-up call. Oversight matters, but you know, trust but verify.
Speaker 1:I mean it had to be a whole lot more paperwork involved than just simply writing a simple grant. I mean—.
Speaker 3:Apparently she was a good grant writer.
Speaker 1:She must have been damn good at it.
Speaker 3:It makes you think what other schemes or stuff like that go on.
Speaker 1:I'm sure there's a lot smaller ones that people are getting away with that. You know what I mean. It's like getting unchecked.
Speaker 3:Who else I mean who else in our government is out here pretending they have these organizations and writing money or writing these grants to get this money, and then it's going unchecked and then verified. I bet there's all kinds of people doing that.
Speaker 1:I bet it's a lot of stuff and it's almost kind of like the school system things that we've been diving into a little bit. It seems like some schools not saying any names or anything, but we've seen several instances where schools were maybe non-reporting stuff as soon as they should have or maybe changing the logistics of how their school year went. You know what I mean, and I think a lot of that has to do with funding. It may not be as lavish of a scam like buying Maseratis and shit, but people who are trusted and write up the paperwork goes unchecked. You know what I mean. It could be just tiny shit here, tiny shit there.
Speaker 3:And it all adds up in the end.
Speaker 1:We appreciate you being with us this week and we hope you enjoyed the story of the Gucci goddess, we sure enjoyed telling it to you.
Speaker 3:Well, that's a wrap. Until next time, keep it real and keep it 69 South.
Speaker 1:Until the next episode, have a good day, a good evening, whatever. We'll see you next time.
