A former school employee in the US was jailed for nine years for stealing US$1.5 million (S$1.98 million) worth of chicken wings.

       Vera Liddell, who worked as the food service director for Harvey School District 152 near Chicago, stole the wings from July 2020 to February 2022, according to media reports.

       Prosecutors said between August and November 2021 – during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic – the 68-year-old ordered more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the school district’s food provider and picked up the order in a district cargo van, the New York Post reported.

       The wings were ordered as part of a take-home meal scheme for students in the district who were doing remote learning at that time.

       But prosecutors said the food did not end up on the students’ plates.

       Court documents did not state what happened to the wings.

       The theft, which was described in the court documents as a “massive fraud”, was discovered only in 2023 during a mid-year audit.

       Prosecutors said the district’s business manager found the annual food service costs were US$300,000 over budget, despite being only halfway through the school year.

       Broadcaster ABC News reported that the business manager found it odd that Liddell placed orders for chicken wings, as they contain bones and would not be served to students.

       Cook County state attorney’s office told independent television station WGN that Liddell pleaded guilty on Aug 9 to theft and operating a criminal enterprise.