Former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was sentenced on Thursday to one year of home detention for perjury and mortgage fraud.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby also ordered Mosby to forfeit her Florida condo, delivering a sentence that includes three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors had sought a 20-month prison term, but the judge opted for home detention.
During the four-hour hearing, prosecutors pushed for prison time while Mosby’s defense team requested probation. Federal Public Defender James Wyda highlighted that Mosby’s crimes were unrelated to her role as state’s attorney and argued that she had already faced significant consequences, including losing her job and enduring a public trial.
“Jail is not a just sentence for Ms. Mosby, her family, or the community,” Wyda said, emphasizing the trauma incarceration would cause to her daughters.
Wyda maintained that Mosby, who declined to speak in court, was exercising her legal rights by maintaining her innocence and pursuing an appeal and a pardon.
Mosby has consistently claimed innocence, labeling the prosecutions as politically motivated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney, however, described Mosby as unremorseful and dishonest, pointing out her public statements and lack of remorse.
Separate federal juries convicted Mosby of perjury and mortgage fraud in trials held in Greenbelt. In November, jurors determined Mosby falsely claimed financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic to withdraw $80,000 early from her city retirement account. She used the money for down payments on two Florida properties worth nearly $1 million combined.
Mosby was acquitted on one count of mortgage fraud in February but found guilty on another, related to a false statement about a “gift letter” for a condo in Longboat Key.
In court, Delaney argued that Baltimore’s citizens were the victims of Mosby’s perjury, emphasizing the importance of truth in public office. Judge Griggsby concurred, noting the significant harm to the public due to Mosby’s role as an elected official.
Griggsby ordered Mosby to forfeit the Florida condo, citing her mortgage fraud conviction. The government must return Mosby’s down payment and 10% of the condo’s appreciated value. Mosby’s property value nearly doubled to about $890,000 since purchase.
Supporters of Mosby, including well-known civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, gathered outside the courthouse. Crump argued that Mosby’s prosecution was harsher compared to other white-collar crimes, suggesting racial bias.
Despite claims of politically motivated prosecution, the investigation into Mosby predated Biden’s administration, and both Judge Griggsby and U.S. Attorney for Maryland Erek Barron were Biden nominees.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Delaney refuted allegations of bias, stating:
“In the United States of America, we do not prosecute people because of their politics, and we do not cut them a break because of their politics either.”
Mosby plans to appeal her convictions and is seeking a full pardon from President Joe Biden, with support from the Congressional Black Caucus.
