GREENBELT, Md. – Marilyn Mosby, the former Baltimore City State’s Attorney, has been convicted on two counts of perjury. The federal jury reached the verdict Thursday, finding the former prosecutor guilty of perjury after she falsely claimed financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to withdraw money from the city’s retirement fund, federal prosecutors announced, according to the New York Post.
“We respect the jury’s verdict and remain steadfastly committed to our mission to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, protect the civil rights of all Americans, and safeguard public property,” US Attorney Erek L. Barron said.
Mosby gained notoriety as she unsuccessfully tried to prosecute six Baltimore police officers after Freddie Grey died in the back of a police van in 2015. A judge acquitted the first three officers during trial, and charges were eventually dropped against the remaining three.
Now the ex-prosecutor faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the two perjury counts she’s been found guilty of committing. Her sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
According to the charges that were filed against her, Mosby falsely claimed financial hardship during the pandemic in order to withdraw $90,000 from her city retirement account. She then used the money for down payments on two vacation properties in Florida, prosecutors said.
Mosby claimed “financial hardship” in 2020 to withdraw the money from her retirement funds despite receiving her full salary of $247,955.58, according to federal prosecutors. Hence, they said she lied on mortgage applications by failing to reveal unpaid federal taxes.
The trial was delayed in February after Mosby’s entire defense team quit, Law Officer previously reported.
A. Scott Bolden was Mosby’s former lead defense attorney. He quit in February after U.S. District Court Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby threatened to hold him in contempt of court. He was scolded by the judge on several fronts, which included accusing prosecutors of harboring racial animus, using profanity in an interview outside the courthouse, and disclosing confidential responses from jurors in court filings, according to Fox News.
Bolden withdrew from the case, saying he needed to focus on his own defense instead of Mosby’s. The other lawyers at his firm working on the case faced a conflict because of that.
As Mosby walked out of a federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, following Thursday’s verdict, she said, “I’m blessed,” according to FOX 45.
However, Mosby still faces two counts of making false mortgage applications in a pending federal case, which relates to the purchase of two Florida vacation homes. A trial date has not yet been scheduled.
If convicted, Mosby faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years for each of the two charges, the New York Post reported.
Mosby lost her job as Baltimore’s top prosecutor during a re-election bid in July 2022 once she was charged with perjury in federal court.
