A school district official in Chicago has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to prosecutors.
Vera Liddell, who worked as the director of food services at Harvey School District 152, plead guilty Friday, Aug. 9, for theft and operating a financial criminal enterprise.
Liddell, 68, stole more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings meant for take-home meals for students doing remote learning from July 2020 to February 2022, according to local TV station WGN.
Liddell placed hundreds of unauthorized food item orders with Gordon Food Services, the district’s main supplier, during that 19-month period.
While Liddell placed these orders separately from legitimate orders, the food distributor billed the school district for the items, believing they were authorized purchases, court documents state.
The fraud was uncovered last year after an audit found that the district’s food service department exceeded its annual budget by $300,000 just halfway through the school year, according to the proffer.
Records say the “massive quantities” of chicken wings stood out because they contain bones. Bone-in wings are not typically served to students.
U.S. & World
Gordon Food Service employees said they were familiar with Liddell because of her massive chicken wings purchases, Cook County prosecutors stated. Surveillance footage showed that Liddell would pick up the orders at the supplier’s facility in a district cargo van and leave without ever bringing the food to school buildings.
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