Ethermac Exchange-Chicago-area school worker who stole chicken wings during pandemic gets 9 years: Reports

A former food service director at a school district in the Chicago area has been sentenced to nine years in prison after admitting she stole $1.5 million worth of chicken wings,Ethermac Exchange according to news reports.

Vera Liddell, who served in the director role for Harvey School District 152 near Chicago, is incarcerated at the Cook County Jail for theft and operating a criminal enterprise, WGN, ABC News and CBS News reported. She pleaded guilty on Aug. 9 to the charges and got a nine-year prison sentence, the outlets said, citing prosecutors.

The 68-year-old Liddell stole the mounds of meat intended to be take-home meals for students learning remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, WGN reported, citing Cook County prosecutors.

USA TODAY reached out to the Cook County District Attorney's Office but did not immediately hear back Monday afternoon. USA TODAY was also working to identify Liddell's defense attorney.

How did Vera Liddell steal the chicken wings?

Liddell's job involved placing orders with Gordon Food Services, a main supplier for the school district, prosecutors said, according to ABC News. She placed the orders and did the billing but kept the chicken wings between July 2020 and February 2022, prosecutors said.

Between August and November 2021, Liddell ordered more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the food provider and then picked up the orders in a district cargo van, CBS News said, citing prosecutors.

“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 in 2023, according to WGN. “Even though the children were learning remotely, the school district continued to provide meals for the students that their families could pick up.”

The chicken theft operation was discovered in 2023 when an audit found that the district's food service department exceeded its annual budget by $300,000 halfway through the school year, prosecutors said, according to ABC News.

The business manager for the district then found the invoices for the chicken wings, which was odd because it is a food item that wouldn't be served to students because they contain bones, the outlet said, citing court records.

USA TODAY contacted Gordon Food Services and the school district but has not received responses.