An Illinois school district is reeling after a former cafeteria employee admitted to embezzling a staggering $1.5 million worth of chicken wings.
Vera Liddell, 68, who served as the food service director for Harvey School District 152 near Chicago for over a decade, pleaded guilty to the charges on Friday and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Liddell’s theft took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when students were learning remotely and schools were shut down to prevent the spread of the virus.
Despite the closures, the district continued to provide meals for students, which their parents could pick up.
Court documents revealed that Liddell exploited this situation, ordering more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the district’s food service provider between July 2020 and February 2022.
She arranged for these orders to be picked up using a district cargo van, but the wings never made it to the schools or students.
The scheme unraveled in January 2023 when the district’s business manager conducted a routine mid-year audit.
The audit revealed that the district had exceeded its annual food service budget by $300,000, despite only being halfway through the school year.
This prompted further investigation, which uncovered the unauthorized purchase of chicken wings—a food item that the district does not serve to students due to its bone content.
The nature of the crime has left the community and school officials shocked, especially given the large scale of the theft. Prosecutors have yet to determine what Liddell did with the vast quantity of chicken wings.
Liddell is currently being held at the Cook County Jail, where she will begin serving her nine-year sentence.
The story has sparked conversations across Illinois and beyond about the oversight of cafeteria services and the responsibilities of school employees in managing public resources.
