Former Baltimore mayor ordered to repay $2 million business loan
BALTIMORE -- Former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has been ordered to repay a $2 million business loan, according to court documents.
The court order comes after the lender, Old National Bank, sued the former mayor who was listed as a guarantor with Gulf Coast Technology Corporation, the consulting company that received the loan, according to The Baltimore Banner.
The loan was issued in November 2023 under a contract in which Rawlings-Blake said she would repay the loan if the consulting company did not.
Court documents showed that the company at one point agreed to repay the loan in $28,000 monthly payments with a 3% interest rate, The Banner reported.
According to the latest court order, issued on Jan. 22, 2025, Rawlings-Blake must repay the $2,109,114 loan along with the cost of the lawsuit and interest after Jan. 8 at a rate of $562.02 per day.
Rawlings-Blake's Career in and out of office
Rawlings-Blake served as mayor of Baltimore between 2010 and 2016. She took over after former Mayor Sheila Dixon resigned due to a scandal.
At the time, Rawlings-Blake was praised for the smooth transition and her handling of the fire and police pension crises.
During her last few months in office, Rawlings-Blake was criticized for her response to the Freddie Gray riots and an increasing murder rate.
In 2017, she was sued by a group of business owners who alleged that the city, mayor and police failed to prevent looting and rioting after Gray's death.
Catherine Pugh took office following Rawlings-Blake.
Shortly after leaving office, Rawlings-Blake announced the launch of her consulting firm, SRB & Associates.
According to The Banner, she is also the president of Buy-MBE, a company that connects local businesses with Fortune 500 buyers.
In 2021, Rawlings-Blake appeared on CNN as the spokesperson for rapper Travis Scott after 10 people died during a crowd surge at his Astroworld music festival in Houston.
According to a CNN report, the former mayor had been introduced to Scott by a mutual friend. She provided consulting and advocacy services under SRB & Associates.