FBI agents have raided Larry Hogan’s Florida home as the search for Roy McGrath continues.
McGrath, 53, was declared a wanted fugitive following he disappeared on monday leaving his attorney, Joseph Murtha, alone on the steps of the Baltimore federal courthouse.
Murtha said he believed McGrath planned to fly from Florida to Maryland Sunday night for a court appearance Monday morning, but that did not happen. Rather than begin jury selection according to the trial schedule, a judge issued a warrant for McGrath’s arrest and dismissed potential jurors.
On Tuesday, the US Marshals Service announced it would launch an interstate search for McGrath, who was indicted in 2021 on federal fraud charges.
He stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state, including a fraudulent $233,647 severance payment he obtained following leaving his position as executive director of the Maryland Environmental Service to become Hogan’s chief of staff in June 2020, according to an indictment by the great jury . He also lied regarding working while taking multiple vacations and using state funds for personal expenses, the indictment says.
McGrath resigned from the Hogan administration in August 2020 following news of his unusual severance pay became public. After his arrest, McGrath was released on bail. He was asked to hand over his passport as a condition of his release, his lawyer said.
McGrath later moved to Naples, Florida, where his wife, Laura Bruner, watched as FBI agents raided their home Wednesday morning.
Murtha, McGrath’s attorney, confirmed the search in a phone interview Wednesday followingnoon, saying officers were likely looking for something to indicate McGrath’s current whereregardings. An FBI spokesperson said the agents “conducted court-authorized activities at that residence” but declined to provide further details.
Murtha, who was recently in contact with McGrath’s wife, said he has been cooperating with authorities since his disappearance. She was present at her home Wednesday when officers conducted the search.
Murtha said he had no reason to believe his client would not go to court. She said they had a substantive conversation regarding the case Sunday night. McGrath was supposed to board a plane later that night, her attorney said.
McGrath was appointed by Hogan to serve as CEO of the Maryland Environmental Service in December 2016. The state corporation provides environmental services, such as water and wastewater management, to government entities and private clients. According to federal and state prosecutors, McGrath enriched himself personally by taking advantage of his positions of trust as head of the environmental agency and Hogan’s top adviser.
He got the agency’s board to approve a severance payment of $233,647, equal to a year’s salary, following his departure as CEO by falsely telling them the governor had already approved the payment, according to prosecutors.
