Illinois school worker pleads guilty to stealing $1.5M worth of chicken wings

HARVEY, Ill. ( WGN ) — An Illinois woman has pleaded guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of food, mainly chicken wings, from the school district where she worked.

Vera Liddell was the food service director for Harvey School District 152 near Chicago.

Cook County prosecutors accused her of stealing massive amounts of food meant for take-home meals for students learning remotely during the pandemic.

She allegedly ordered more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the school district’s food provider and then picked-up the order in a district cargo van.

“The massive fraud began at the height of COVID during a time when students were not allowed to be physically present in school,” read a proffer presented at Liddell’s bond hearing last year. “Even though the children were learning remotely, the school district continued to provide meals for the students that their families could pick up.”

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office told Nexstar’s WGN that Liddell entered a guilty plea on Friday, August 9, and received a 9-year prison sentence.

The scheme was first uncovered by the district’s business manager during a routine mid-year audit.  The manager found the district was $300,000 over its annual food service budget despite only being halfway through the school year, according to prosecutors.

WGN’s Sam Charles and Andrew Schroedter contributed to this report.

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