Police investigating former Wake County homeless shelter operator for possible fraud

Raleigh police say they are investigating a Raleigh nonprofit that, until recently, ran a Wake County homeless shelter for possible fraud.

The Bryant Center operated Wake County’s Second Street Place shelter until the end of March, when the county ended its contract three months early because of “concerning operational practices,” according to a statement the county provided The News & Observer.

The nonprofit operated the nearly 100-bed, drop-in shelter in the winter of 2025, before the county selected it in the summer to operate the shelter moving forward. The shelter closed in April for renovations.

“At this time, we cannot comment on our efforts, as new details are still being investigated,” a Raleigh Police Department spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “This investigation is being coordinated with the District Attorney’s office. We will release information as soon as it becomes available, but we cannot determine when that will be.”

The department sent The N&O a redacted copy of the incident report related to the investigation. It says police are investigating alleged “Fraud/Credit Card-ATM Fraud” that was reported in late March.

Records obtained by The News & Observer through a public records request show the nonprofit was using a church’s billing account, was not paying invoices for various services, and had trouble paying its employees.

Contracts show Wake County was prepared to pay The Bryant Center up to around $1 million for shelter services, with the year-long contract for operating Second Street Shelter ending by July. Those contracts were on a reimbursement basis, meaning The Bryant Center had to submit receipts to the county in order to get paid.

The N.C. Department of Labor is also investigating the nonprofit, The N&O previously reported.

“Our Wage and Hour Bureau currently has open investigations related to this matter,” said John Wesley Waugh, the department’s spokesperson, in a statement to The N&O. “Because these investigations are ongoing, I’m unable to provide further comment at this time.”

The Bryant Center’s reaction

Bryant Center spokesperson Mike Gauss told The N&O on Friday the organization is in the process of “closing our books,” but he declined to elaborate.

He said The Bryant Center is committed to remaining open and transparent and that the organization wants to continue operating and aiding homeless people.

Gauss said on Tuesday that a detective had spoken with leaders in the nonprofit, including executive director Vance Haywood.

He said the questions likely concerned the relationship between St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church and the nonprofit. The nonprofit grew out of the 55-member Raleigh church, which meets at The Church of the Good Shepherd on Hillsborough Street.

While the two entities split in mid-2025, church board members told The N&O that the nonprofit continued to use billing accounts under the church’s name afterward without permission. Gauss said both organizations had an agreement allowing the nonprofit to continue using those accounts.

Since speaking with the detective, Gauss said, “We haven’t heard anything else.”

Unpaid bills

On March 16, a St. John’s board of directors member wrote an email to county officials and Bryant Center leadership explaining that The Bryant Center had an open account at uniform rental company Alsco with over $30,000 in unpaid bills.

That account was under the St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church name, said Mark Godette, a member of the church’s board of directors.

Gauss maintained said the agreement between the church and the nonprofit was set to end around the summer of 2026.

But Godette told The Bryant Center “You are not authorized to use St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church’s [employer identification number], name, or financial identity for any purpose.”

Gauss said that new leadership at the church did not know about the previous agreement between the two organizations.

“People who did have full knowledge were pressured to resign,” he said.

Sam Daughtry, a church board member who said he was also at one point an employee of The Bryant Center, told The N&O that the church’s congregation called for the change in leadership.

“This decision by the church was not led by one person or by a small group of individuals,” he wrote in a May 8 email. “The call for change came from the congregation itself and was clearly expressed at a special congregational meeting held in late March 2026.”

Daughtry said Haywood resigned from his position with the church before the congregation could hold a vote of no-confidence in him.

Haywood was a member of both The Bryant Center’s and the church’s boards of directors at the same time, Daughtry said. He said that the agreement allowing the nonprofit to use accounts under the church’s name was done while Haywood and others were on both boards.

When reached by The N&O, Haywood deferred to Gauss to speak for The Bryant Center.

Daughtry also said the church had retained a lawyer and is considering its legal options with regard to The Bryant Center. According to Daughtry, Haywood and The Bryant Center left the church with nearly $200,000 in debt.

Haywood sent an email to the church on March 16 asking for a financial “reconciliation” where the church would hand over financial records so that both organizations could settle accounts.

The church’s board, in an email sent by Godette, rejected Haywood’s timeline for this financial reconciliation, which would have had the church send over records by the end of March.

The board raised concerns that the church may not have been reimbursed for other expenses made in its accounts.

Both The Bryant Center and the church received county funds for operating the shelter, said county spokesperson Kate Maroney. But it’s unclear how much money was given to each entity and for what, and the county did not provide further information.

The county has not explained why it sent money to the church for Bryant Center operations. However, Godette outlined in his communications with The Bryant Center that the church is unsure about exactly what it should have been reimbursed for when money was spent in its name or out of its accounts.

On March 31, David Baggett, parish administrator of The Church of the Good Shepherd, also sent an email reminding The Bryant Center of over $8,000 in unpaid invoices for security services relating to The Bryant Center’s work operating Second Street Place.

More than half of that was overdue.

Payroll issues

The nonprofit also had trouble paying its employees, based on court records and emails obtained in a public information request.

Daughtry is suing The Bryant Center in Wake County small claims court for $4,600 in unpaid wages, according to online court records. He said he worked for the nonprofit both in applying for grants and in his capacity as a notary public.

Stephen Gruver, director of the county’s Homeless and Prevention Services Division, sent a letter to The Bryant Center on Feb. 13 outlining concerns including about the center’s delays in paying its employees, and on March 12, the nonprofit responded with an action plan, including a new payroll system, to address those concerns.

Emails over the course of March detail The Bryant Center communicating to its employees how to use the new payroll system.

The Bryant Center further outlined its plan to create a payroll reserve fund in its March 12 response to the county.

“The Bryant Center is currently pursuing a line of credit with its financial institution to provide additional liquidity for short-term cash flow needs,” the plan says.

The nonprofit also promised to notify Wake County within 72 hours if it had any further payroll issues.

The county declined to comment further on why exactly it ended its contract with The Bryant Center.

This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 8:05 AM.

Nolan Wilkinson

The News & Observer