The state Attorney General’s Office is accusing a former program director of stealing more than $700,000 from a nonprofit organization that runs a transitional shelter for homeless people in Kalaeloa.

Laura Pitolo was charged with five counts of first-degree theft and one count of second-degree theft.

A state judge issued a warrant Tuesday for Pitolo’s arrest, setting bail at $50,000. First-degree theft carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. The maximum penalty for second-degree theft is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The charges accuse Pitolo of stealing the money from Waianae Community Outreach and the state between March 2007 and July 2010. The state is listed as a victim because WCO receives state money to operate the transitional shelter.

The Attorney General’s Office said Pitolo stole the money by writing unauthorized checks to herself and others and by making unauthorized ATM withdrawals and debit card transactions.

The organization sued Pitolo in 2013, alleging she stole $732,046 in operational and client trust funds.

Pitolo has failed to appear in all three court hearings on the lawsuit.

Former WCO Executive Director Sophina Placencia said the organization’s board of directors fired Pitolo in May 2010 after she discovered Pitolo had stolen money. At that time, Placencia said, WCO was aware of the theft of just $69,000. She said she filed a police report two months later based on that amount.

In April 2013, WCO learned that police had not filed criminal charges against Pitolo and that the three-year statute of limitations was about to run out. So the organization filed the lawsuit against Pitolo.

Under state law, the statute of limitations for initiating a criminal prosecution for felony theft is three years.

To prosecute Pitolo, the Attorney General’s Office is invoking a portion of the law that starts the three-year statute of limitations from the date the crime was discovered, if it involves fraud, deception or a breach of a fiduciary obligation.

The state says it learned of the thefts on Sept. 5, 2013.