An ex-food service director for public schools in Illinois was sentenced to nine years in prison for orchestrating a $1.5 million chicken wing theft, according to prosecutors.
Former food service director stole food from impoverished children
Vera Liddell, who worked for Harvey School District 152—a financially struggling district near Chicago—for over a decade, was accused in January 2023 of stealing food intended for children.
According to court documents Liddell put in fake orders for over 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the district’s food supplier.
She collected them up in a district van but did not drop them off to the students, who were not in classes while remote-learning during the pandemic.
Liddell’s scheme was uncovered when the school district’s business manager noticed that their food service budget had gone $300,000 over their annual budget when they were only halfway done with the school year.
“The business manager discovered individual invoices signed by Liddell for massive quantities of chicken wings, an item that was never served to students because they contain bones,” court documents stated.
Ex-food service director scammed kids during COVID
Gordon Food Service, who was the supplier for the district, was well-acquainted with Liddell “due to the massive amount of chicken wings she would purchase.”
“The massive fraud began at the height of COVID during a time when students were not allowed to be physically present in school,” court documents said.
“Even though the children were learning remotely, the school district continued to provide meals for the students that their families could pick up.”
Last week, Liddell pleaded guilty to thieving $1.5 million chicken wings and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Ponzi schemer sentenced for ripping of elderly Christians
In Texas, the alleged mistress of a Christian radio host was sentenced to life in prison for her role in stealing tens of millions from elderly listeners.
Debra Mae Carter, 65, was found guilty of money laundering in a decade-long Ponzi scheme that defrauded almost $31 million from approximately 170 people, many of whom were retired.
According to prosecutors, Carter was William Neil “Doc” Gallagher’s mistress. He headed the scammy Gallagher Financial Group and targeted elderly listeners on Christian radio stations.
As Gallagher raked in ill-gotten gains, Carter laundered the cash through fake charities, rental homes, and land purchases.
Police discovered $200,000 in gold and silver in Carter’s travel trailer when they executed a warrant.
Gallagher, who called himself the “Money Doctor,” has already been convicted of forgery, securing the execution of a document by deception, theft of property, and exploiting the elderly, for his role in the Ponzi scheme.
In 2021, he was handed down three life sentences, along with sentence of 30 years to be served concurrently.
Military scammer pleas out after defrauding US Army
Meanwhile, a woman from Texas managed to swindle military families out of over $100 million, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Mello, who lived in San Antonio, set up a shell company in 2016 and indulged in a lavish lifestyle, buying several mansions, high-end vehicles, and other luxury items in a six year period.
At the center of her scheme was a youth development program designed for children in military families. Instead of supporting these kids, she used the funds to fuel her extravagant tastes.
In March, she pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing false tax returns and was sentenced at the end of July.
Before she was sentenced, prosecutors explained how much the woman they dubbed the “Gucci goddess” splashed out with the stolen cash. In one instance, she spent $923,000 on jewelry during a 2022 shopping spree.
Mello’s scam started in 2016 when she was working as a civilian employee at Fort Sam Houston, where she managed funding for a youth program and determined the availability of grant money.
By creating a fake organization named Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, she was able to divert the money into her own coffers.
US Attorney Jaime Esparza said that Mello “betrayed the trust of the government agency she served and repeatedly lied in an effort to enrich herself.”
Prosecutors explained that Mello used her fraudulent organization to apply for government grants.
Over a six year period, she submitted nearly 50 applications and received around $109 million.
She was able to pull off the what is one of the largest thefts in military history, due to her expert knowledge in grant programs and years of experience in the field.
“Rather than $109 million in federal funds going to the care of military children throughout the world, she selfishly stole that money to buy extravagant houses, more than 80 vehicles and over 1,500 pieces of jewelry,” Esparza said in court.
Mello was also able to maintain the scheme by cultivating the trust of her co-workers and supervisors, but ultimately got so flashy with the stolen cash that it led to her downfall.
“Mello’s penchant for extravagance is what brought her down,” remarked Lucy Tan, acting special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s field office in Houston.
“We identified that her reported income was well below the lavish lifestyle she lived. As we uncovered the details, the criminal scheme grew, the dollar amount grew, and the reach of her spending grew.”
When her residences were searched in 2023, the many cars she splashed out on had dead batteries from lack of use.
The assistant US Attorney originally sought a sentence of more than 19 years in prison, but settled for 15 years in the plea deal.
