SANTA CRUZ — A Monterey woman pleaded no contest to felony grand theft Thursday for stealing thousands of dollars from the local nonprofit where she worked.

Elena Moya was arrested in late January and accused of stealing more than $30,000 from Community Bridges, while she was employed as the organization’s program director/manager of meal reimbursement for the in-family day care program. The embezzlement occurred sometime between Sept. 1, 2010, and Aug. 10, 2011, according to court records. Moya was fired from Community Bridges in September after having worked there about nine years.

In exchange for Moya’s plea, she will be on formal probation for three years and will have to serve 90 days in County Jail, although Judge John Salazar has authorized that she may potentially serve that time in an alternative custody program. She will also have to pay approximately $37,900 in restitution to Community Bridges. Moya gave a representative from the organization a check for $20,000 Thursday morning, according to her attorney, Paul Meltzer. She will have to pay the balance in full.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Moya took checks from the organization and then cashed them herself, and gave checks to others to cash them. Her husband, Martin Moya, was also charged in connection with the case. He pleaded no contest Thursday to one misdemeanor count of check forgery.

Martin Moya will also be placed on three years’ probation and must serve 90 days in County Jail, which may be served through an alternative custody program.

Judge Salazar also ordered a stay-away order for Elena Moya that prohibits her from going to any of the Community Bridges sites.

Community Bridges, which is based in Aptos, serves more than 27,000 Santa Cruz area residents annually through a variety of programs including Meals on Wheels, the Live Oak Family Resource Center and the Beach Flats Community Center, among many others.

Follow Sentinel reporter Jessica M. Pasko on Twitter @jmpasko