A Marshfield woman who once ran a local charity for families of sick children has been sentenced for taking its money. Iilee R. Pederson, 40, pleaded guilty Nov. 10 to money laundering and three counts of theft in a business setting, in connection with about $120,000 taken from Ronald McDonald House Charities of Marshfield. Under a plea agreement, five counts of making fraudulent writings and two counts of misdemeanor theft were dismissed but were considered at sentencing.
Pederson served as the nonprofit's executive director until she resigned on June 26, 2024. According to the criminal complaint, money was withdrawn from the charity's checking account and deposited into her personal PayPal account, and an accounting firm had found discrepancies involving the charity's Associated Bank account and statements Pederson provided. A detective found that funds were then moved from the PayPal account into her account at Simplicity Credit Union on the same day.
The total taken was estimated at $120,000, and the organization recovered $100,000 from its insurance carrier. At the sentencing hearing, board members, volunteers and the director who succeeded Pederson said the harm extended past the missing funds, pointing to unpaid bills, missing documents, the cost of bringing in specialists to sort out the accounts, and a loss of trust among the families and supporters the house serves.
Wood County District Attorney Jonathan Barnett told the court Pederson had blamed her brother-in-law for the missing money and had altered bank statements to hide transactions. Her attorney, Adam Schleis, said Pederson had repaid $56,373 before the hearing, had entered treatment, and had taken responsibility by pleading guilty. Pederson apologized to the organization and to her family.
Wood County Circuit Judge Emily Nolan-Plutchak sentenced Pederson to six months in jail and seven years of probation, and ordered her to repay $100,000 to the charity's insurance company. She also imposed a prison term of four years plus four years of extended supervision that Pederson will not have to serve if she meets the court's conditions, and she ordered Pederson to report to jail by Dec. 28.
