A school worker has been jailed for nine years after stealing $1.5m (£1.18m) worth of chicken wings.
Vera Liddell’s year-long heist of the flightless birds soared to 11,000 cases of the wings, which were meant for students during the height of the COVID pandemic, prosecutors say.
The 68-year-old started the scheme in July 2020 and was not found out until a business manager at her school near Chicago found that food costs were $300,000 (£235,000) over budget during a routine audit, according to US media reports.
Liddell bought up the huge amount of food and used a school cargo van to pick it up – students never saw a single wing.
Schools were closed at the time because of the pandemic, but the district was still sending out meal kits to pupils who were learning remotely.
Liddell, who was food service head for 10 years at the district, was originally charged with theft and operating a criminal enterprise.
She was handed a nine-year jail sentence after pleading guilty.
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