A bookkeeper is expected to plead guilty in connection with the theft of more than $700,000 from a Bethesda-based national nonprofit organization and from the retirement funds of her colleagues.

Kymberli Rand, an accountant with the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Rand was charged by information Wednesday, which typically is an indication that a plea deal is in the works because the charge can't be filed without the defendant's permission.

Prosecutors said Rand had been stealing from CSAVR soon after she was hired as a bookkeeper in 2002.

Rand hid her scheme in various ways, prosecutors said. According to charging documents, Rand:

¥ Prepared fake papers from the organization's long-standing auditor to show that CSAVR finances were in order.

¥ Misappropriated money meant for contributions into the 401(k) accounts of CSAVR employees and put them into the organization's operating funds to cover up the theft.

¥ Created fraudulent e-mails purporting to be from the organization's retirement benefits administrator assuring certain CSAVR employees that there was nothing out of order with the 401(k) accounts.

The years-long scheme unraveled in April when the CSAVR president allegedly discovered that Rand withdrew $10,300 from CSAVR's bank account to pay off her American Express bill. On further investigation, the president found that Rand had stolen more than $700,000 to pay off her credit card and racked up thousands of dollars on the organization's credit card to buy shoes and food, according to court documents.

Law enforcement's investigation is ongoing, prosecutors said.

CSAVR is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for vocational training to help the mentally and physically disabled get jobs. The nonprofit was formed in 1940 and is composed of the chief administrators of state rehabilitation agencies that provide vocational training to the mentally and physically disabled. CSAVR is funded by membership dues.