A former food service director for an Illinois school district was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings that were supposed to go to students during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vera Liddell, 68, was working for Harvey School District 152 when she placed orders for the chicken wings with a food provider for the district, Gordon Food Services, from July 2020 to February 2022 and billed the district while she kept the food, prosecutors said, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
She was accused of ordering more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the food provider and picking up the order in a district cargo van.
ILLINOIS WOMAN CHARGED WITH STEALING $1.5M IN CHICKEN WINGS FROM SCHOOL DISTRICT
Schools were closed during this time due to the pandemic, but the district was still sending meal kits to students learning remotely.
Liddell was charged with theft and operating a criminal enterprise in January 2023.
The scheme was discovered when the district's business manager found the invoices for the poultry during a routine mid-year audit last year, according to court documents, which noted that chicken wings typically would not be served to students since they contain bones.
ILLINOIS SCHOOL DISTRICT WORKER ACCUSED OF TAKING $1.5 MILLION IN CHICKEN WINGS: REPORT
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The audit revealed that the district's food service department had exceeded its annual budget by $300,000 with half the school year left, according to prosecutors.
Liddell had worked for Harvey School District 152 for more than a decade.
CatsAreTheBest2 on August 12nd, 2024 at 19:26 UTC »
There was a lady in our school district who worked in the food service office and somehow over the years when they finally caught her and arrested her and sent her to prison she had stolen almost $100,000 in lunch money.
_PukyLover_ on August 12nd, 2024 at 17:57 UTC »
I remember a similar case in the state of Texas, it seems a city employee was caught after an audit, he was in charge of ordering supplies for the cafeteria (sadly I can't remember if it was a school district or a city hall or something related) he would order an extra amount of beef but he'd have it delivered somewhere else, then he would pick it up and resale it, he got away from it for several years until the audit, they estimated he stole around a 250k.
Deez_Gnats1 on August 12nd, 2024 at 17:51 UTC »
Chicken wing prices are out of control