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A former Illinois school food service director, Vera Liddell, was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The embezzlement, uncovered through an audit, involved ordering over 11,000 cases of wings and billing the school district for unauthorized purchases.

A former food service director, Vera Liddell, aged 68, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for embezzling $1.5 million worth of chicken wings from Harvey School District 152 in Illinois. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed but meal kits were still being sent to students, Liddell was responsible for ordering food for the district. However, instead of ensuring the supplies reached the students, she kept the chicken wings for herself while continuing to bill the district.

The scheme, which ran from July 2020 to February 2022, was uncovered after an audit revealed the district’s food service department had overspent its annual budget by $300,000 midway through the school year. Further investigation by the district's business manager found invoices for over 11,000 cases of chicken wings, which Liddell had allegedly ordered and collected using a school district cargo van.

Chicken wings, typically not served to students due to the bones, became the key evidence in the case. Liddell, who had been employed by the school district for a decade, was charged with theft and running a criminal enterprise, leading to her conviction and sentencing in January 2023.