In the US, a woman was sentenced to 9 years in prison for stealing chicken wings worth $1.5 million (2 photos)
As the director of food services and purchasing food for schoolchildren, the woman organized a fraudulent scheme - and stole 11 thousand boxes of chicken wings in 2 years.
66-year-old Vera Liddell purchased food for schoolchildren in Harvey County #152. Using her position, the woman organized a fraudulent scheme. From 2020 to 2022, she ordered chicken wings from a local supplier, but in the end, the products never reached the schoolchildren.
“The massive fraud began during the height of COVID-19, when students were not allowed to physically attend school. Even though children were learning remotely, the district continued to provide meals to students for their families to pick up,” court documents say.
Liddell’s scheme was uncovered during an audit. The audit found that the school’s food service department had exceeded its annual budget by more than $300,000, even though the school year was only halfway through.
The district’s superintendent found invoices for chicken wings, which court documents say are not typically served to students because they contain bones. Liddell ordered the wings separately from other food items and picked them up in a van from a school. Over the course of two years, she stole 11,000 cases.