Marilyn Mosby, Former Baltimore Top Attorney, Guilty Of Mortgage Fraud

GREENBELT, MD — Marilyn Mosby, the former Baltimore City state's attorney who was convicted four months ago of perjury, was found guilty of mortgage fraud on Tuesday in a 2021 federal case where she purchased a vacation property in Florida.

U.S. District Court authorities in Maryland charged that Mosby, 44, lied to mortgage lenders while buying two Florida vacation homes — one in Kissimmee and a beach condominium in Longboat Key. The jury acquitted Mosby of fraud related to the Kissimmee property but after seven hours of deliberation convicted her of making a false statement to a mortgage lender in 2021 to purchase the second property.

Mosby cried as the verdicts were read in court, The Washington Post reported.

Jurors agreed with prosecutors that Mosby lied when she wrote a letter claiming her husband had agreed to give her $5,000 at closing toward the condo.

Federal prosecutors described Mosby as a smart and sophisticated lawyer who repeatedly lied to influence lenders while holding office, The Baltimore Banner reported.

Her attorneys said she was inexperienced in real estate practices and acted in good faith, relying on family members and licensed professionals to advise her.

Prosecutors told the jury Mosby and her now former husband, Nick, owed tens of thousands of dollars in federal taxes, which resulted in the Internal Revenue Service obtaining a more than $45,000 tax lien against them in 2020, the Banner said.

Nick Mosby testified that he hid the couple’s tax debts from his wife, who had threatened to leave him unless he sorted out his finances.

“Throughout this entire process, I lied to her about everything being okay with the taxes,” Nick Mosby said, according to the Post.

Marilyn Mosby faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each count of perjury. The conviction of making a false statement on a loan application carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, the Banner reported.

Earlier Trial, Conviction

In November 2023 Mosby was found guilty of two counts of perjury in a separate case. Prosecutors said she lied about experiencing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic to gain early access to retirement funds.

Mosby used the money to buy two vacation homes in Florida, the Baltimore Banner reported.
She could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the perjury conviction, according to the Banner.

Mosby served two terms as state's attorney for Baltimore. A federal grand jury indicted her on perjury charges before a Democratic primary challenger defeated her last year.

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Mosby withdrew $90,000 from Baltimore City's deferred compensation plan. She received her full salary for the year, or about $250,000.

Mosby's perjury indictment accused her of improperly accessing retirement funds by falsely claiming that the pandemic harmed a travel-oriented business that she had formed. She used the withdrawals as down payments to buy a home in Kissimmee, Florida, and a condominium in Long Boat Key, Florida.

Prosecutors argued that Mosby wasn't entitled to access the funds under provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. They said her business, Mahogany Elite Enterprises, had no clients or revenue and didn't sustain any "adverse financial consequences" from the pandemic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.