Chiefs’ Chris Jones Makes $1.5 Million Plea to Free Woman in Chicken Wing Scam

Getty Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones.

Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones caught wind that a Chicago-area school worker — 68-year-old Vera Liddell — was sentenced to nine years in prison on August 9 for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings and made a plea on social media that went viral.

“I’ll pay for the wings that she stole to get her free,” Jones tweeted on August 13, sharing another tweet featuring a picture of Liddell.

Between July 2020 and February 2022, Liddell, who was the former food service director for Harvey School District 152 for more than 10 years, “placed the orders and did the billing” for the wings but kept the food, which was intended to be take-home meals for students learning remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, per USA Today.

An audit in 2023 revealed that the district’s food service department had exceeded its annual budget by $300,000 “with the school year only half over,” according to ABC7 Chicago.

“The business manager for the district uncovered the invoices for the chicken wings,” according to court records obtained by ABC7 Chicago.

Liddell was charged in January 2023 with theft and operating a criminal enterprise, per ABC7 Chicago.

Users on X Reacted to Chris Jones’ Plea

Users on X reacted to Jones’s post.

“She was hungry and fed her family and they wanna give her 9 years but let rapist run around the streets getting probation and [expletive] out justice system is wild! Free The Wing Queen,” one person wrote.

“She ordered and stole 11,000 cases of wings over 2 years. This wasn’t a one-time thing. And paying for something doesn’t make a crime go away,” another person wrote.

“Why? She made that choice over and over again for years. Stole from kids. From taxpayers,” another person wrote. “What do you think she did with a million and half worth of wings? Ran a racket. This wasn’t cuz she was hungry.”

“Reimbursement doesn’t absolve her of her crimes. Same as if you rob a bank. What you gonna do? Tell the judge ‘My bad, I’ll return the money if I can go’,” another person wrote.

“My question is what the hell she do with the wings cause thats whole lotta chicken missing lol I dont think I know enough people to feed 1.5 million in wings in an entire lifetime,” another person wrote.

“Yeah 9 years is crazy when r*pists, pedos, and murderers get less time,” another person wrote. “She still needs to pay for her crime though. She didn’t do this by accident. We all were hurting during Covid. I didn’t go out stealing food, so no excuse. I got kids too. I made it work through the grace of God.”

Chiefs’ Remaining Preseason Schedule

The Chiefs have two preseason games remaining before the team must shave down its roster in preparation for the regular season.

Week 2 of the preseason will be a home game for Kansas City against the Detroit Lions. That game will take place on Saturday, August 17 at 3 p.m. Central Time.

Week 3 of the preseason will be a home game against the Chicago Bears. That game will take place on Thursday, August 22 at 7:20 p.m. Central Time.

The Chiefs’ regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens is on Thursday, September 5 at 7:20 p.m. Central Time.