Devious Lunch Lady Scams That We Didn't Ever Notice As Kids

When you're an American grade-school student, lunch is the one blessed chunk of time that you get to chat with your friends and take a breather from lessons. However, that's as good as it gets. The school food isn't tasty, the line takes too long — and, if you're super unlucky, the staff might be scamming you out of your money. No one suspects sweet lunch ladies to be capable of stealing, but when these ones finally got caught, their crimes made jaws drop to the freshly-mopped cafeteria floor.

Friendly Faces

For example, no one ever thought Lenora Williams would embezzle PB&J funds. She was the director of food services for the Radford, Virginia, school system, and they loved her. School board members adored her cooking, and she was featured on the school website as someone whose work was full of "great joy." But for ten years, she hid a secret.

Stealing Here and There

With a school account she controlled, Williams used taxpayer money to make purchases that were never authorized — well, except by her. She also inflated numbers for the free and reduced lunch program, stole from meal plans, and falsified audit reports. Only her fellow cafeteria staff suspected anything.

Whistle Blower

They should have exposed Williams' scheme, but there was pressure. Williams was so well-loved, they feared losing their jobs if their identities were revealed as whistleblowers. One brave soul stepped up, but their claims were simply dismissed. There was little doubt as to why.

Afterthought

The truth only came to light after Williams' 2017 death. The school district took back the account she'd been in charge of, and discovered she had used it for all kinds of unofficial purchases: Amazon, Walmart, groceries, restaurants, gasoline, utilities, taxes, and even resorts. They were stunned, but there was another twist to the story. Williams' husband was part of the police department.