The former executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Marshfield, Wisconsin, has been charged with taking over $100,000 from the nonprofit.
According to USA Today, 39-year-old Iilee R. Pederson faces felony counts including money laundering, five counts of making fraudulent writings, three counts of theft in a business setting, and two misdemeanor theft counts. Pederson resigned on June 26, 2024, and is scheduled for an Oct. 27 initial appearance in Wood County Circuit Court, the newspaper said.
The case began when a representative from Ruder Ware Business Attorneys contacted Marshfield police about possible embezzlement. Investigators allege Pederson withdrew funds from the charity’s Associated Bank checking account and moved the money to her personal PayPal account.
An accounting firm had flagged discrepancies between the bank account and statements Pederson provided while she was executive director, the newspaper said.
Prior to her resignation, Pederson was the sole reviewer and approver of statements, which were saved as PDFs and then recycled, leaving no paper trail, according to the report. The charity’s board did not authorize any withdrawals to a PayPal account.
When first questioned by Ruder Ware, Pederson gave no explanation. She later told investigators a family member who owed money for drugs and alcohol had accessed the account, and that she redacted bank statements to conceal transactions. Asked why the transfers continued after that family member died, Pederson allegedly said “bad people” tied to the relative kept accessing the account and that she was “in too deep” to stop, according to the cited complaint.
Read more at USA Today