Aug 15, 2024 07:00:00

A school employee who stole chicken wings worth about 220 million yen was sentenced to nine years in prison

A woman who served as food service director for

Harvey School District 152 in Illinois has been sentenced to nine years in prison for theft and operating a criminal enterprise. The woman was arrested for ordering 11,000 cases of chicken wings, worth a total of $1.5 million (approximately 220 million yen), from a food provider during the period when students were not allowed to attend school due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Illinois school worker sentenced to 9 years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings | Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com/us/illinois-school-worker-sentenced-9-years-prison-stealing-1-5-million-worth-chicken-wings

Suburban school worker charged with stealing $1.5M worth of chicken wings from district | WGN-TV

https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-investigates/suburban-school-worker-charged-with-stealing-1-5m-worth-of-chicken-wings/

Chicken wing theft: Food service director for Harvey School District 152 pleads guilty to stealing $1.5 millions worth of food
https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-investigates/suburban-school-worker-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-1-5m-worth-of-chicken-wings-from-district/

Bella Riddell, who was sentenced to nine years in prison, has served as food service director for more than 10 years at Harvey School District 152. However, Riddell is accused of fraudulently ordering chicken wings for 19 months from July 2020 to February 2022.

During this period, students in Harvey School District 152 were required to learn remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and students were to receive home-delivered meals. According to court records, Liddell ordered a total of 11,000 cases of chicken wings from Gordon Food Services, the school district's food supplier, in addition to the meals for students. The ordered meals were delivered by the school district's cargo van.

The district budget covered the $1.5 million needed to buy the chicken wings, but the chicken wings ordered by Liddell never reached the students.

The incident came to light during a 2022 financial audit that revealed Harvey School District 152's food service budget was $300,000 over budget, even though the fiscal year was only halfway through. When the district's business manager investigated the matter, he discovered numerous invoices for chicken wings signed by Liddell.

Local police subsequently arrested Liddell on suspicion of theft and operating a criminal enterprise, after which he was indicted in January 2023 and pleaded guilty at trial on August 9, 2024, receiving a nine-year prison sentence.