A 68-year-old woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing more than $1.5 million (more than R$8 million) from public schools in the United States. Vera Liddell worked as a food services director for the Harvey School District in Chicago for 10 years and pleaded guilty to the crime.
Vera’s theft scheme began in February 2020, when Chicago schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The chicken wings were supposed to be delivered to the homes of students who were taking classes remotely, but they never reached the final recipient. Instead, the woman used the school’s delivery truck to take the goods to her home.
The case was discovered after school administrators in the area noticed a $300,000 hole in their budget long before the end of the year. During the investigation, it was discovered that the theft was five times larger.
According to the Chicago District Attorney's Office, the woman stole more than 11,000 boxes of chicken wings over a three-year period. It's not known what she did with all that meat. The server eventually pleaded guilty to the crimes and was charged in February 2023 with theft and conspiracy to commit a criminal offense. Vera was sentenced to nine years in prison.
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