In a mixed ruling, a federal appeals court on Friday overturned former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s 2024 conviction for mortgage fraud, while upholding her perjury convictions related to early COVID-19-era withdrawals from her retirement account.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also vacated the forfeiture of a Longboat Key, Florida, condominium, which had been ordered based on the now-overturned mortgage fraud conviction.
Mosby, who served two terms as Baltimore’s top prosecutor from 2015 to 2023, was originally indicted in 2022 on two counts each of perjury and mortgage fraud. The charges stemmed from her early withdrawal of $90,000 from her retirement savings during the pandemic and false statements she allegedly made on mortgage applications for two Florida vacation homes.
The appeals court rejected Mosby’s argument that the form used to withdraw retirement funds was too ambiguous to warrant perjury charges. The form asked whether she had suffered “adverse financial consequences” due to the pandemic. Mosby claimed she feared COVID-19 would impact Mahogany Elite, a travel business she had founded. But prosecutors argued that Mahogany Elite had no clients, income, or operational activity.
In a unanimous opinion, Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker wrote that the language on the form was “adequately clear,” and affirmed the jury’s decision convicting Mosby of both perjury counts on November 9, 2023.
However, in a win for Mosby, the court sided with her on the mortgage fraud conviction, ruling that the trial judge had issued an “erroneously overbroad” jury instruction about venue.
According to Judge Thacker’s opinion, the jury had been told they did not need to find that the crime occurred in Maryland — only that acts “leading up to the crime” took place there. This instruction was improper, the court concluded, and the conviction could not stand.
As a result, the court also threw out the lower court’s order to forfeit the Florida condo, which had been tied to the mortgage fraud conviction.
The mortgage fraud charge stemmed from Mosby allegedly submitting a false gift letter in Maryland and using the document to secure a mortgage in Florida. At trial, prosecutors also said her husband wired funds from Maryland in support of the purchase. A jury found her guilty on February 7, 2024.
Despite those facts, the appeals court ruled that the improper instruction to jurors on venue tainted the conviction.
In a partial dissent, Judge Paul Niemeyer disagreed with his colleagues and said he would have upheld the mortgage fraud conviction. He argued the evidence clearly showed Mosby made false statements in Maryland and transmitted them electronically for use in Florida, which justified trying the case in Maryland.
Mosby was sentenced in May to three years of supervised release — including one year under home confinement — and ordered to forfeit the Florida condo. With the mortgage fraud conviction overturned, the condo forfeiture is now void.
Attorneys for Mosby and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Friday’s ruling marks another significant chapter in the high-profile legal saga of Mosby, once considered a rising star in progressive prosecutorial politics.
