The FBI has determined Roy McGrath is an “international flight risk” and is offering a $10,000 reward for information about his whereabouts.
McGrath, 53, was former Gov. Larry Hogan’s chief of staff but had to resign after it was revealed he orchestrated an outsized severance package for himself from Maryland Environmental Services, a government owned nonprofit he ran before taking a post on Hogan’s staff.
Federally indicted in October 2021, McGrath was supposed to stand trial on embezzlement and wire fraud charges in the U.S. District Court for Baltimore on March 13. He did not show up, prompting the presiding judge to issue a warrant for his arrest and triggering a multistate search. An FBI wanted poster for McGrath lists a possible alias as “RC Baisliadou.”
A resident of Naples, Florida, McGrath was supposed to leave for Baltimore on March 12 but apparently never got on his flight.
March 15, two days after McGrath disappeared, agents armed with long guns came to McGrath’s door at dawn and raided the residence. Equipped with a search warrant, they went through the house and confiscated his wife’s phone.
On March 22, a mysterious author published what purported to be a tell-all book about McGrath’s time under Hogan. However, the author’s identity could not be verified, and an attorney for McGrath’s wife told The Baltimore Sun it was possible the book originated on a computer McGrath had access to.
Former U.S. Marshals told The Sun that for any fugitive to evade detection for prolonged periods, it is likely they would have to flee the country.
McGrath, a U.S. citizen, was born in Greece, and his mother was from Greece, according to public records and McGrath’s Florida marriage license. It’s not clear if McGrath maintained Greek citizenship — an official with the Greek Consulate in Washington, D.C., declined to answer questions. McGrath did surrender his U.S. passport to authorities in Florida in 2021.
Once abroad, someone with means might be able to shop for a fake birth certificate, former Marshals told The Sun. They might be able to take up residence in a place like the U.S. Virgin Islands and apply for an American passport under their assumed identity.
