Ex-Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby found guilty of mortgage fraud

Former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was found guilty Tuesday of lying on the mortgage application for one of two luxury Florida vacation homes she purchased while serving as the city’s top prosecutor.

Mosby, 44, a Democrat who served two terms between 2015 and 2023, was Judge in US District Court in Greenbelt in two counts of making a false statement on a loan application.

The jury deliberated for more than seven hours and determined that she lied when she wrote a letter claiming that her husband at the time had agreed to gift her $5,000 when closing on a condo in Longboat Key, Florida, on the state’s southwestern Gulf Coast.

But the panel concluded that she did not make a false statement in a mortgage application for a home in Kissimmee, Florida, not far from Walt Disney World.

When the verdict was read at 5:36 p.m., Mosby gasped and sobbed. She made no statement outside the courthouse and got into a waiting Chevrolet Suburban. Then her fans began chanting, “We love Marilyn!”

The verdict marks the second time in four months that Mosby has been found guilty of a federal crime. A jury found her guilty in 2023 of two counts of perjury.

“We humbly respect the court’s considered rulings, the zealous advocacy of opposing attorneys, and the wisdom of both jury verdicts in this case and remain focused on our mission of upholding the rule of law,” U.S. Attorney Erek Barron said in a statement.

Federal prosecutors argued at trial that Mosby was an intelligent and sophisticated lawyer who He repeatedly lied to influence lenders while serving as elected state attorney for Maryland’s largest city. Her lawyers maintained that she was a novice when it came to real estate and acted in good faith, relying on family members and licensed professionals to help her navigate a complicated and unfamiliar process.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Delaney and Aaron Zelinsky called six witnesses in their document-filled case who described how Mosby and her husband owed tens of thousands of dollars in federal taxes, resulting in the Internal Revenue Service obtaining a tax lien of over $45,000 against them in 2020.

Mosby later filled out a mortgage application for a home in Kissimmee and failed to disclose that he owed taxes and certified that he was not delinquent or delinquent on any federal debt, according to testimony.

Although Mosby signed a document stating that he would use the property as a second home and maintain exclusive control over it for at least a year, testimony revealed, he signed a contract a week earlier with a property management and vacation rental company. Florida executive villas.

Mosby then filled out a mortgage application for a condo on Longboat Key, testimony showed, again failing to disclose that he owed taxes and certifying that he was not delinquent or delinquent on any federal debt.

Mosby wrote a letter reporting that she and her family had spent the last 70 days in Florida. But, according to her testimony, she had only spent the last 37 days in the state.

She also submitted a letter stating that her husband had agreed to give her $5,000 at closing. The government alleges she did it to lock in a lower interest rate.

FBI forensic accountant Jenna Bender testified that bank records showed Mosby provided her with that money after receiving his next paycheck. The government also called her as a rebuttal witness.

“There is only one person responsible for these lies,” Zelinsky said in his closing argument. “The only person responsible for these lies is the person who lied over and over again, the former chief prosecutor of the city of Baltimore: Marilyn J. Mosby.”

However, the jury found that she only made one of the seven false statements alleged in the indictment.

Meanwhile, Federal Public Defender James Wyda and Assistant Federal Public Defenders Maggie Grace and Sedira Banan, Mosby’s attorneys, called eight witnesses, including their client’s now witness. ex husband, Nick, a Democrat who is president of the Baltimore City Council.

He She took the blame for creating the tax debt and testified that he repeatedly lied to her about taking care of her to protect her family.

His mortgage broker, Gilbert Bennett, said assisted with mortgage applications and stated that the liabilities listed on the documents came from a credit report.

His testimony revealed that he suggested submitting an explanatory letter. Bennett also brought up the concept of a gift letter after the mortgage company would not accept $5,000 from a bank account Mosby shared with one of her daughters.

Mosby later testified that he read the mortgage applications and believed the information they contained was accurate. He said it was the first time he had bought a home and She trusted her husband, her real estate agent and her mortgage broker.

“You will see that evidence is the reality of life. And the reality of life is confusing and complicated,” Grace said in her closing argument. “But complicated doesn’t mean criminal.”

Mosby rose to national prominence in 2015 when he charged six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died from injuries suffered in custody. None of the cases resulted in convictions.

She ran for a third term as state’s attorney but lost in the 2022 Democratic primary. Ivan Bates, defense attorney and former assistant state attorney in Baltimore, came out on top and he ran unopposed on election day.

In 2023, Mosby was found guilty of two counts of perjury after a jury found she lied twice to withdraw $90,000 she otherwise would not have been able to access from a retirement account under a provision of the law. Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, o CARES Act. He then used that money to buy the house and the condo.

By choosing to testify, Mosby opened the door for the jury to learn about his prior convictions.

Mosby faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count of perjury. Meanwhile, making a false statement on a loan application carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. But people usually receive much lesser punishments.

U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby said she would communicate with the parties about future court proceedings.

“Thank you,” Griggsby said, “we’ll adjourn.”