A woman in Illinois is accused of stealing at least $1.5 million in food, mostly chicken wings, from one of the state’s poorest school districts.
Vera Liddell, the former food service director of Harvey School District in a Chicago suburb, allegedly took over 11,000 cases of chicken wings she ordered for the district with school funding, according to a report.
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Liddell, 66, began stealing the food during the height of the pandemic, the report noted.
“The food was never brought to the school or provided to the students,” court records relating to the incident noted.
Liddell allegedly started her thievery of chicken wings while the district was providing pickup meals during remote student learning, prosecutors said.
Where the 11,000 cases ended up has not been confirmed, according to the report.
Liddell’s scheme was uncovered during a routine January 2022 audit conducted by the district manager.
Costs were found to be $300,000 over budget at the midpoint o the school year, the report noted.
The audit “discovered individual invoices signed by Liddell for massive quantities of chicken wings, an item that was never served to students because they contain bones,” the prosecution said.
Employees for the food service provider knew the alleged thief by name “due to the massive amount of chicken wings she would purchase,” prosecutors said.
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Liddell is currently being detained on $150,000 bond in Cook County Jail.
