A former Harvey School District 152 employee in Illinois, Vera Liddell, 68, was sentenced to nine years in prison for embezzling $1.5 million worth of chicken wings from the district during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The massive theft took place over 20 months, from July 2020 to February 2022, when Liddell ordered more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the district's food supplier, Gordon Food Services. She used a district cargo van to pick up the chicken wings.
At the time, students were learning remotely due to pandemic restrictions, yet the school district continued to offer meals for families to collect. As the food service director, Liddell’s role included ordering and billing for food supplies. She exploited this position by placing orders and retaining the chicken wings.
The elaborate scheme was revealed during a 2023 audit, which revealed that the food service department had already exceeded its annual budget by $300,000 (Ksh. 38 million) halfway through the school year. Upon further investigation, the business manager uncovered invoices for chicken wings, a food item not typically served to students due to its bone content.
Liddell’s significant and frequent purchases of chicken wings had previously caught the district’s attention. Discovering her fraudulent activities led to theft charges and operating a criminal enterprise. She pleaded guilty to the charges on August 9, 2023.
This case highlights substantial fraud that occurred during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were adapting to remote learning and alternative meal distribution.
