Erica Griswold, the Anne Arundel County Register of Wills who was indicted last week and accused of cashing a beneficiary’s check, has been mired in financial disputes for decades with banks, state collectors and property management companies, resulting in more than $30,000 worth of judgments against her, court records show.
Since the late 1990s, Griswold, 50, has been the subject of 10 civil lawsuits from an array of parties seeking payment on contracts she had entered into, court records show. Two cases, brought by Bell Atlantic Maryland, which now operates as Verizon, and the State of Maryland Central Collection Unit were dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction. In the rest, including a second case from the state, courts ruled against her.
In total, Griswold has been ordered to pay $32,333.74 in judgments since 2003, court records show, including attorneys’ fees in some cases.
First elected in 2022, Griswold manages the agency responsible for protecting the financial interests, assets and estates of residents after their death. Her office ensures that the terms of a will are carried out and that any beneficiaries receive what they are entitled to. It also collects any appropriate taxes for the state from those transfers.
On Friday, a grand jury indicted Griswold on three counts, charging her with misconduct in office, misappropriation by fiduciary and theft. Griswold has been accused of cashing a $6,645 check made out in her name but which was intended to pay a beneficiary’s inheritance tax.
According to the indictment, on or about June 16, the Anne Arundel County Register of Wills Office received a cashier’s check from an unnamed beneficiary attempting to satisfy an invoice. When that person received another invoice in August for the same amount, they contacted the office the same day.
The indictment states that “beginning on August 4, and continuing for several months thereafter, numerous employees of the Office communicated to Griswold the importance of repaying the $6,645.” The indictment does not name any of the employees and the Office of the State Prosecutor declined to answer whether any other charges would be filed.
As of Jan. 24, Griswold had not paid back the money, the indictment states. She earns an annual salary of $146,117.91, according to the indictment.
Before becoming an elected official, Griswold exhibited a similar pattern of missed payments and lost judgments with rent, court records show.
Between 2014 and 2018, when Griswold lived in a three-story townhome in Glen Burnie, 26 failure-to-pay notices were submitted in Glen Burnie District Court. With the majority of complaints filed after half of the month in question had passed, and some filed more than a month later, 16 cases ended with warrants of restitution, which allow a landlord to evict a tenant who has not paid rent. These were eventually canceled after payments were made, mostly months after the rent was first due.
Griswold attempted to shield some of these cases in 2020, court records show, claiming she had vacated the Glen Burnie property in 2016 “with good will” and no balance. However, rent claims continued to be made against her until the summer of 2018, when an eviction took place. Griswold is now an Annapolis resident.
A supervisor with MEO Services, the landlord assistance company that filed the notices on behalf of a property owner, told The Capital that they do not keep records “from that long ago.” The property owner also did not respond to text messages or phone calls made to a number listed under her name in public records.
Griswold did not respond to an email or phone calls made to both her personal and office lines. When a reporter from The Capital went to the Register of Wills Office in Annapolis, an employee said Griswold was not available.
When The Capital asked an employee who refused to identify herself whether Griswold was still active in her role as register, she said, “There is no information at this time.”
Darius Stanton, who was Griswold’s deputy chief until he left the office in October, declined to comment when reached by phone.
Griswold won the register of wills position in 2022, defeating four-term incumbent Lauren Parker with 50.5% of the vote. Her victory marked a historic moment, as Griswold became the first Black person to hold the position since it was established in the late 18th century.
In an interview Wednesday, Parker, a Republican, said she was aware of Griswold’s court record, noting that the Maryland Judiciary was the “best way to learn about someone’s past and what their behavior is going to be.” However, the former register, who was first elected in 2006, said she did not make Griswold’s past a part of her campaign, choosing to focus more on her own achievements instead.
“We always took the high road. I don’t believe in tearing people up,” Parker said. “You put your best attributes out there.”
Though Parker’s campaign website is no longer active, an archived version from last February makes no mention of her opponent.
Griswold retained defense attorney Peter O’Neill the night of her indictment. At the time, he declined to comment on the case, other than to say Griswold intended to plead not guilty to the three charges. The latter two charges each hold a maximum punishment of five years incarceration, while misconduct in office, a common law offense, has no sentencing guidelines.
A status conference is scheduled for April 12.