(NewsGlobal.com)- Reports reveal that the judge in the larceny and fraud trial of former Maryland governor Larry Hogan’s chief of staff, Roy McGrath, issued an arrest warrant for him on Monday morning after he failed to appear in federal court in Baltimore.
McGrath, who was in charge of the Maryland Environmental Service (MES), has been accused of misappropriating $270,000, making false statements to Governor Hogan and the MES board, and secretly recording conversations with state officials, all of which are crimes punishable by jail time. It was reported by local news that a judge issued a warrant for arrest after McGrath failed to show up for court.
The Department of Justice said that federal charges had been brought against McGrath for forgery of a government document, 5 counts of wire fraud, plus 2 counts of swindling monies from a nonprofit that received federal funding. Two of the allegations, wire fraud and record falsification, have maximum terms of 20 years in jail, while the others, embezzlement, and money laundering, bring maximum punishments of 10 years.
The Baltimore Sun reported in November that McGrath entered a not guilty plea to federal charges. He faces additional jail time if he is found guilty of criminal theft or wiretapping at the state level.
After working for Hogan as his chief of staff from late May 2020 to August of the same year, McGrath resigned as MES director. According to a local report, Hogan will testify as a federal witness in the subsequent trial.
According to WBAL, attorney Joseph Murtha verified that McGrath’s wife is working with investigators but has no clue where her husband is. Law enforcement has checked in on McGrath’s Florida residence.
No jury for McGrath’s fraud trial has been chosen, and the potential jurors have been sent home. The Department of Justice believes the trial must be rescheduled, and a new jury will be selected. Because of his flight risk status, the Justice Department will likely seek pre-trial confinement if McGrath is apprehended.
