A former Illinois food service director who stole 11,000 cases of frozen chicken wings worth $1.5 million was sentenced Friday to 9 years in prison.
Vera Liddell worked as food service director for ten years at Harvey School District 152. She accepted a plea deal in exchange for a 9-year prison sentence, WGN reported.
Liddell, 68, started her scheme during the 2020 COVID pandemic when funds were flowing to school districts to provide food.
According to the State’s Attorney’s office, from July 2020 until February 2022, Liddell placed hundreds of unauthorized orders through school district vendor Gordon Food Service.
Gordon Food Service told investigators they believed the purchases were authorized and the district paid all of the invoices, prosecutors said.
Liddell used a school cargo van to pick up the cases of chicken. She then sold the chicken to soul food restaurants and to friends and family.
In January 2022, the district business manager conducted a routine mid-year audit and discovered the food service department was more than $300,000 over its annual budget while schools were closed.
An investigation uncovered multiple invoices signed by Liddell for 11,000 cases of frozen chicken wings, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors reviewed surveillance video that showed Liddell arriving at Gordon Food Service to pick up the cases of food in a district cargo van. But the food was never delivered to the schools, prosecutors said.
Schools were closed but the district was still sending meals to students who were learning remotely at home.
Illinois public schools don’t serve chicken wings to students because the wings contain bones.
