FBI raids home of Larry Hogan’s former chief of staff as he’s accused of $200,000 wire fraud

FBI agents were seen raiding the home of an ex-GOP staffer after he failed to appear for a Monday federal trial, over allegations he used his high-ranking position to steal more than $230,000 in state funds.

Following his failure to show, 53-year-old Roy McGrath was promptly declared a fugitive, leading agents to storm his $610,000 Florida home on Wednesday.

Indicted in 2021 on federal fraud charges, McGrath for years served as the chief of staff for two-term Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who left office this January after eight years of service for the Old Line State.

That said, Hogan, a devout Republican who many had pegged for a presidential run come 2024, saw his last years in office marred by McGrath’s alleged wrongdoings – which included a fraudulent $233,647 severance payment prosecutors say he paid himself when leaving another state job to take on the posh political gig.

That payment hit McGrath’s bank account in June 2020, after he falsely told his former employer, the Maryland Environmental Service, that the then governor had approved the payment.

Indicted in 2021 on federal fraud charges, McGrath for years served as the chief of staff for two-term Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (seen here earlier this month), who left office this January after eight years of service for the Old Line State

McGrath would resign from Hogan’s office in April 2020 after the six-figure payment was reported, and months later would be slapped with a federal wire fraud charge. 

He also faces multiple additional fraud and embezzlement charges connected to roughly $170,000 in expenses, that prosecutors say the disgraced aide lined his pockets during his tenure as Hogan’s top aide.

Set to appear in Baltimore for the start of his criminal trial, McGrath left his attorney standing alone on the steps of the city’s federal courthouse Monday, leading US Marshals to release a wanted poster for the ex-Hogan staffer later that day.

Less than 48 hours later, federal agents were seen swarming the three-bedroom Naples home that McGrath shares with his wife, Laura Bruner, as the woman hopelessly watched.

McGrath, however, was noticeably absent – meaning the manhunt for the alleged fraudster continues.

Prosecutors maintain that he has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state, including the previously mentioned severance payment he obtained after leaving his post as executive director of the Maryland Environmental Service.

The state further alleges that McGrath also fibbed about the hours he worked, taking multiple vacations on the state’s dime – and using funds set aside for projects pertaining to Maryland for personal expenses. 

Feds swarmed the three-bedroom home in Naple McGrath shares with his wife on Wednesday, les than 48 hours after he did not turn up at court in Baltimore, where they had lived until 2020