Paul Douglas Tate, courtesy of Sanford Police Department

An employee at the Sanford Outreach Mission Inc., a nonprofit which provides shelter for the homeless, was charged by Sanford police in late March with stealing funds from clients.

Paul Douglas Tate, 62, of Circle Drive in Sanford, faces two counts of felony larceny. According to Sanford police, Tate is accused of stealing more than $5,000 from two clients at the organization’s men’s shelter.

According to OMI’s president, Tate was a director with the organization who was in charge of several case managers. It’s typical for those in the organization to help clients put money into savings accounts for later use, although OMI policy is to deal with money orders instead of cash. Tate, who is no longer employed by OMI, is accused of taking cash from the clients and keeping it rather than putting it in a bank account.

Hamer Carter, OMI’s board president, said the organization was able to work with the victims to recover the stolen money.

Tate, who was arrested on March 24, was released from custody on a $5,000 unsecured bond. A search of the North Carolina Department of Correction’s website shows a Paul Douglas Tate with the same date of birth having convictions in 1988 for felony embezzlement and in 1995 for misdemeanor larceny. Both convictions occurred in Guilford County.