Court overturns ex-state attorney's mortgage fraud conviction but upholds perjury convictions

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A national appeals tribunal connected Friday overturned a owe fraud condemnation of erstwhile Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who gained a nationalist illustration for charging constabulary officers successful a Black man's death. But the tribunal upheld 2 perjury convictions relating to existent property she purchased.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled successful a 2-1 determination that assemblage acquisition successful the owe fraud lawsuit was “erroneously overbroad" concerning the due tribunal venue. The lawsuit was tried successful Maryland relating to spot she bought successful Florida.

“As a effect of our determination to vacate the owe fraud conviction, the forfeiture bid related to Appellant’s Longboat Key Condo, which was obtained arsenic the effect of the alleged owe fraud, is besides vacated,” Judge Stephanie Thacker wrote.

Judge Paul Niemeyer dissented successful part. While the bulk ruling contended that the authorities failed to present grounds capable to amusement that the transgression was committed successful Maryland and that the territory court's venue acquisition was erroneous, Niemeyer wrote helium would person rejected some arguments and affirmed the territory court's judgment.

The tribunal upheld 2 perjury convictions, saying it recovered “no mistake successful the territory court's adjudication of Appellant's perjury convictions.”

The tribunal rejected arguments by Mosby that the admitted grounds misled jurors.

“In sum, the territory tribunal did not err successful permitting the Government to present grounds arsenic to however Appellant utilized the funds she withdrew from her status accounts,” the tribunal said. “That grounds was probative arsenic to whether Appellant suffered ‘adverse fiscal consequences.’ And the probative worth of that grounds was not substantially outweighed by a hazard of undue prejudice oregon assemblage confusion.”

Mosby, 45, was spared jailhouse clip astatine her sentencing past year. Her condemnation included 12 months of location confinement, which she concluded past month. She besides was sentenced to 100 hours of assemblage work and 3 years of supervised release.

Mosby was convicted of lying astir her finances to marque aboriginal withdrawals from status funds during the COVID-19 pandemic and fraudulently claiming that her ain $5,000 was a acquisition from her then-husband arsenic she closed connected a Florida condominium.

Mosby, who was Baltimore's state's lawyer from 2015 to 2023, has maintained her innocence.

Mosby gained nationalist attraction erstwhile she charged officers successful the 2015 decease of Freddie Gray, which led to riots and protests successful the city. After 3 officers were acquitted, Mosby’s bureau dropped charges against the different 3 officers. She yet served 2 presumption arsenic state’s lawyer earlier she was indicted and mislaid reelection.

In 2020, astatine the tallness of the pandemic, Mosby withdrew $90,000 from Baltimore city’s deferred compensation program and utilized it to marque down payments connected abrogation homes successful Kissimmee and Longboat Key, Florida.

Prosecutors argued that Mosby improperly accessed the funds nether provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act by falsely claiming that the pandemic had harmed her travel-oriented broadside business.

Mosby’s lawyers argued that the status funds came from her ain income and that nary 1 was defrauded due to the fact that she paid an early-withdrawal punishment and each national taxes connected the money. The authorities said that wealth remained the spot of the metropolis until she was legally eligible, and her perjury harmed everyone who followed the rules during the coronavirus pandemic.

The owe fraud condemnation overturned by the appeals tribunal connected Friday stemmed from a $5,000 “gift letter” she submitted erstwhile taking a indebtedness to bargain the Longboat Key property. Prosecutors said the missive falsely stated that Mosby’s hubby was giving her a $5,000 acquisition for the closing erstwhile it really was her ain money.

Mosby applied for a statesmanlike pardon past year. In a missive to then-President Joe Biden, the Congressional Black Caucus expressed enactment for her cause. Biden did not assistance a pardon.