In Illinois, USA, a school worker named Vera Liddell has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing 11,000 cases of chicken wings, valued at approximately $1.5 million, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Liddell, 68, served as the food service director for Harvey School District 152 and had been with the district for over a decade.
Over a period of 19 months, from July 2020 to February 2022, Liddell orchestrated the theft by ordering the chicken wings from Gordon Food Services, the district’s main supplier. She billed these orders to the district but diverted the food for her own use, prosecutors explained. This fraudulent activity occurred while students were engaged in remote learning due to the pandemic, and although meals were still provided for pickup by families, the stolen food never reached the school or any students.
The scale of the theft became apparent during a routine mid-year audit when the district’s food service department was found to have exceeded its annual budget by $300,000. The audit revealed individual invoices signed by Liddell for large quantities of chicken wings an item never included in student meals due to the presence of bones.
The case has highlighted significant oversight issues within the school district’s operations, leading to a severe breach of trust and financial loss.
