By Sarah Trauner
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
A former top official in the Hogan administration was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges that he used his position as the executive director of a state-owned corporation to fraudulently enrich himself with hundreds of thousands of dollars, federal prosecutors said.
The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore alleges that Roy C. McGrath mislead the Board of Directors of the Maryland Environmental Service Corp. (MES) into paying him a $233,647 severance package – equal to one year’s salary – when he left the organization to become Gov. Larry Hogan’s chief of staff in May 2020.
Federal prosecutors allege that McGrath had MES pay tuition for a class he took after he left the corporation; falsified his time sheets at MES so that it appeared he was at work when he was really on two separate vacations in 2019; and used MES funds to pay a pledge he made to the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland.
In addition to the six-count federal indictment, McGrath faces criminal charges from the state of Maryland, which filed a 27-count “criminal information” in the Circuit Court of Anne Arundel County. Among other things, the state allege that McGrath illegally recorded private conversations with senior Maryland state officials.
McGrath will have to make appearances in both federal and state court, prosecutors said, but no court date has been set yet.
“Our federal and state law enforcement team in Maryland will always hold accountable public officials who betray the public trust for their personal gain,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner said in a statement. “Maryland residents should always demand honesty and integrity from those in government, and hopefully this indictment offers the public some level of confidence that we are committed to prosecuting those who violate that trust.”
Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton Howard said his office would continue to “hold accountable any public official who abuses the privileges of their office for corrupt reasons or illicit personal gain.”
“According to this indictment, Roy McGrath misappropriated public money for his own benefit,” said Thomas J. Sobocinski, special agent in charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “From personal travel to even obtaining a certificate from one of the most prestigious universities in the nation, McGrath’s alleged actions were self-serving and ultimately self-sabotaging.”
In December 2016, Hogan appointed McGrath as the executive director of MES, a Millersville-based state-owned corporation that provides environmental services such as water and wastewater management, composting, and recycling to state and local government agencies, the federal government and private clients.
McGrath was confirmed by the state Senate the following March and served in that capacity until May 31, 2020. During that period, the indictment says, McGrath’s salary jumped from $119,299 in 2017 to $233,647 in 2020. He also received annual bonuses ranging from $30,000 to more than $44,900.
Michael Ricci, the communication’s director for Hogan, said the governor’s office has cooperated with the ongoing investigation over the past year.
“These charges are very serious and deeply troubling,” Ricci said. “Marylanders deserve to know that their public officials are held to the highest ethical standards.”
As the case gets moved to the courts, Ricci said the state is confident that the justice system will uphold public trust, and he commended both federal and state prosecutors for their diligence and professionalism.
The indictment was announced Tuesday by Lenzner, Howard, and Sobocinski.
If McGrath is convicted of federal charges, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He faces four counts of wire fraud and two counts of embezzling funds from an organization that receives more than $10,000 in federal benefits.
The state charges carry a maximum penalty of “any sentence that is not cruel or unusual for Misconduct by a Public Official,” and a maximum of five years for felony theft, felony theft scheme, misappropriation, and for each violation of the Maryland wiretap statute.