‘Massive fraud’: Woman steals kids’ chicken wings worth ₹12.5 crore, sent to jail for 9 years

A woman, who worked at a school in the United States, was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing 11,000 cases of chicken wings valued at $1.5 million ( ₹12.5 crore). These wings were supposed to feed students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She allegedly arranged for over 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the school district’s supplier and later collected the order using a district cargo van.

Prosecutors revealed that Vera Liddell, who was in charge of food services at Harvey School District 152 in Illinois, used her role to commit the theft.

The crime came to light when the district noticed its budget had been exceeded. Liddell, aged 68, began stealing chicken wings in July 2020 and continued until February 2022, the New York Post reported.

A school business manager, during a routine audit, discovered that food expenses were $300,000 ( ₹2.5 crore) over budget with several months left in the school year, leading to Liddell’s arrest.

“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,” Fox59 quoted a proffer presented at Liddell’s bond hearing in 2023 as stating.

Students never received the food

While she purchased a large amount of poultry and used a school van to collect it, the students never received any of the food, according to the prosecutors. Despite schools being closed, the district near Chicago still provided meal kits for students during the pandemic.

In January 2023, Liddell faced charges of theft and running a criminal enterprise. She had served as the food service director for a decade. For this crime, she pled guilty before being sentenced to nine years in prison, according to WGN.