Former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is facing a lawsuit filed by an Indiana-based bank over a $2 million business loan. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, seeks repayment after monthly payments of $28,000 stopped in May 2023, leading to a default in July.
According to court documents obtained by FOX45 News, Old National Bank, which merged with CapStar Bank last year, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Maryland. The bank is seeking the outstanding loan balance, plus interest and late fees, totaling over $2 million. The funds were provided to Gulf Coast Technology Corporation, with Rawlings-Blake guaranteeing repayment if the borrower defaulted.
Jeremy Eldridge, a legal analyst and defense attorney not associated with the case, commented on the situation. “My initial reaction is that the former mayor, obviously, is in economic distress,” he said. Eldridge noted the public interest due to the loan’s nature, stating, “The only reason that the public should be paying attention to the fact that former Mayor Rawlings-Blake borrowed this money and was unable to pay it back is because the $2-million sum of money is essentially taxpayer money that is being funneled to small businesses for them to thrive and in this case, they didn’t.”…