US School Worker Charged Of Stealing 11,000 Cases Of Chicken Wings Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison

A school worker in Illinois, USA, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for making away with 11000 cases of chicken wings meant for students. Vera Liddell stole the food over 19 months around the Covid-19 pandemic. The 68-year-old had been charged with theft and operating a criminal enterprise. The total cost of the wings is estimated to be $1.5 million (approx Rs 12.5 crores, as per current conversion rates). Liddell was the food service director for the Harvey School District 152. She had reportedly been working for the district for more than 10 years.

Prosecutors stated that she had ordered chicken wings from Gordon Food Services - a main supplier for the district, reported ABC7 Chicago. She placed orders from July 2020 to February 2022, billing the district but keeping the food, as per prosecutors. Local TV station WGN quoted a proffer presented at Liddell's bond hearing: "The massive fraud began at the height of COVID during a time when students were not allowed to be physically present in school. Even though the children were learning remotely, the school district continued to provide meals for the students that their families could pick up." As per reports, the food never reached the school or any of the students. Liddell would drive a district cargo van and pick up the orders for herself. 

Liddell's theft came to light when a routine audit showed that the district's food service department had already exceeded its annual budget by $300,000, halfway through the school year. During the mid-year audit, the district's business manager found "individual invoices signed by Liddell for massive quantities of chicken wings, an item that was never served to students because they contain bones,” said prosecutors, according to WGN.