Former CEO of a Make-a-Wish Chapter Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Almost $41,000 From Charity

Jennifer Woodley, former CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa, pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $41,000 from the charity that helps sick children along with their families.

Woodley admitted last week in a written guilty plea that she made “unauthorized charges on a foundation credit card, gave herself an unapproved bonus and salary increases and made false entries into foundation records related to those expenses,” as the Associated Press reports.

The forty-year-old pleaded guilty to felonies including two counts of first-degree theft and one count of fraudulent practices.

Prosecutors, under a plea agreement, will recommend a five year sentence for probation as well as fines and restitution.

Nicholas Sarcone, Woodley’s attorney, said he wants to ask for a deferred judgment at sentencing, according to the Associated Press.

If approved, as long as Woodley finishes her probation and other parts of her sentence, the case would be removed from her record.

Soon after Woodley became the chapter’s president and CEO in 2019, the theft began. It continued until financial irregularities were discovered during a group review last summer. Woodley was fired and the chapter initiated an investigation.

She is scheduled to appear at a sentencing hearing on July 20. Jail records show Woodley’s new address is located in North Carolina.