Convicted prosecutor avoids prison time – South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

GREENBELT, Md. — A former Baltimore City prosecutor who gained national fame for indicting police officers in the death of a Black man has avoided prison time as part of her sentence for perjury and mortgage fraud.

The sentence handed down to former prosecutor Marilyn Mosby includes 12 months of home confinement, 100 hours of community service and three years of supervised release.

After the sentencing hearing Thursday, Mosby hugged his supporters, some of whom applauded when the judge announced the sentence.

“I’m incredibly grateful,” Mosby told dozens of supporters outside the courthouse. “It’s not over, but God was here today.”

Mosby was convicted of lying about her finances to make early withdrawals from retirement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic and fraudulently claiming her own $5,000 was a gift from her then-husband that she was closing on a condominium in Florida.

Mosby, 44, has maintained his innocence. She refused to speak to U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby before hearing her sentence. His lawyers said they would appeal his conviction and sentence pending a presidential pardon.

It's a sad day for Mosby and his family, the judge told him.

“It’s also a sad day for the city of Baltimore,” Griggsby said, adding that Mosby demonstrated a “pattern of dishonesty” while serving in public office.

She also emphasized that his crimes did not involve any taxpayer money and said the prospect of separating Mosby from his two young daughters “weighed very heavily” on her decision.

Griggsby questioned Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney when he argued for a 20-month sentence.

“Are there victims and who are they? she asked.

“That’s a good question, your honor,” Delaney responded. “I understand. This is not a case of embezzlement.

Delaney said it harms the public for a public official to lie under oath: “All citizens are victims when their public officials lie,” he said.

Delaney also denied claims by Mosby supporters that she was the victim of selective prosecution, and said she had repeatedly lied about the case and how prosecutors handled it.

“These lies demonstrate that Marilyn Mosby is remorseless, that she has no respect for the truth,” Delaney said.

Mosby gained national attention when she charged police officers in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, which led to riots and protests in the city. After three officers were acquitted, Mosby's office dropped charges against the other three officers. She ultimately served two terms as state's attorney before being indicted and losing re-election.

James Wyda, one of Mosby's attorneys, argued that Mosby was “in a category of one,” a unique case.

“This is not a case of public corruption,” he said. “There was no financial loss to any of the victims.”

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Mosby withdrew $90,000 from the city of Baltimore's deferred compensation plan and used it to make down payments on vacation homes in Kissimmee and Longboat Key, Florida.

Prosecutors argued that Mosby improperly accessed funds under provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act by falsely claiming that the pandemic had harmed his side businesses focused on travel.

In court papers, Mosby's lawyers argued that the retirement funds came from her own income and that no one was defrauded because she paid an early withdrawal penalty and all federal taxes on the money . The government said the money remained the city's property until it was legally eligible, and its perjury harmed everyone who followed the rules during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mosby's mortgage fraud conviction stems from a $5,000 “gift letter” she submitted when she took out a loan to purchase the Longboat Key property. Prosecutors said the letter falsely stated that Mosby's husband was giving her a $5,000 closing gift when it was actually his own money.

“Without the gift letter, the loan would never have gone through and Ms. Mosby would not have obtained the property. No gift letter, no loan,” prosecutors wrote.

Federal prosecutors also said she deserved prison because, unlike others convicted of white-collar crimes, she expressed no remorse or contrition and attempted to delegitimize the case against her.

“MS. Mosby was indicted and convicted because she chose to repeatedly break the law, not because of her politics or policies,” prosecutors wrote.

Mosby's lawyers urged the judge to spare him prison. They said she was the only public official to have been prosecuted in Maryland for federal offenses “that result in no victims, no financial loss and no use of public funds.”

“Prison is no justice for Marilyn Mosby,” her lawyers wrote.

Mosby requested a presidential pardon earlier this month. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the Congressional Black Caucus expressed support for his cause.