Federal authorities announced a manhunt Tuesday for Roy McGrath a onetime chief of staff to former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) after McGrath failed to appear in a Baltimore court on Monday for a series of fraud charges that could land him in prison for decades if hes convicted.

The U.S. Marshals Service of Baltimore has initiated an interstate fugitive investigation, the Marshals tweeted Tuesday . It is now seeking to apprehend the former Maryland governors top aide after he failed to appear in court on Monday, March 13.

McGrath was indicted in October 2021 for allegedly defrauding the Maryland Environmental Service of $233,647. He had assured the MES that Hogan, who appointed him to head the state-run firm in 2016, had approved the sum as severance.

McGrath was also accused of wiring funds from the MES to an art museum whose board of directors he sat on. He allegedly used the funds for a related pledge and more than $14,000 in tuition, and falsified time sheets for two vacations while heading the MES.

In an October 2021 release , the Justice Department said McGrath had personally enriched himself from March 2019 to December 2020. In June 2022, the Justice Department updated the amount of defrauded funds to $276,731 and additionally accused McGrath of recording conversations with senior state officials.