Roy McGrath, one-time chief of staff for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, did not attend federal court in Baltimore for his embezzlement and fraud trial Monday morning, prompting the judge to issue an arrest warrant, according to WBAL-TV.
McGrath, who led the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) until May 2020, allegedly used more than $200,000 of the organization’s funds to wrongly pay himself , made false statements to Hogan and the MES board, and illegally recorded private conversations with state officials, according to the Justice Department (DOJ).
The judge issued an arrest warrant following McGrath’s failure to appear in court on schedule Monday morning, WBAL reported.
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“I was looking forward to seeing him in person here at 8:45am,” McGrath’s lawyer Joseph Murtha said after the jury was excused, according to WBAL’s Kate Amara. Murtha claimed McGrath had told him he planned to travel to Maryland Sunday evening, Maryland Matters reported.
The DOJ said that McGrath has been federally charged with falsifying a document, along with five counts of wire fraud and two counts of embezzling funds from an organization receiving federal benefits. Each wire fraud and document falsification charge could land him up to 20 years in prison, while the embezzlement charges carry potential ten-year maximum sentences.
According to the Baltimore Sun, McGrath pleaded not guilty to federal charges in November. He could also receive prison time if convicted on state-level charges, including felony theft and wiretapping.
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McGrath resigned as MES director at the end of May 2020 to become Hogan’s chief of staff, only to leave that position that August. Hogan has been expected to serve as a witness at the federal trial, the Baltimore Banner reported.
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