Jury reaches split verdict Marilyn Mosby’s federal mortgage fraud trial

By Web Staff

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    GREENBELT, Maryland (WBAL) — Jurors in Marilyn Mosby’s federal mortgage fraud trial returned a split verdict Tuesday afternoon.

Mosby, 44, was indicted in January 2022 on two counts each of federal perjury and mortgage fraud charges, which went to trial separately.

Mortgage Fraud Trial Verdict

Count one: Not guilty Count two: Guilty The jury unanimously agreed that Mosby lied about the source of $5,000 that she allegedly was gifted at closing, as it relates to her purchase of a condo in Long Boat Key, Florida.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland said Mosby falsely stated that she had received a $5,000 gift from her then-husband to be applied to the purchase of the condo in order to get a lower interest rate.

Prosecutors said evidence showed Mosby did not receive a $5,000 gift from her then-husband, but rather transferred $5,000 to him, and he then transferred the $5,000 back to her.

At about 5:53 p.m., Mosby exited the courthouse, said nothing and left in her SUV.

Her lead defense attorney, James Wyda, declined to comment when asked by 11 News for reaction to the verdict. Mosby’s other two federal public defenders also declined to comment.

Erek Barron, U.S. attorney for Maryland, released a statement Tuesday night, saying: “We humbly respect the court’s considered rulings, opposing counsels’ zealous advocacy, and the wisdom of both jury verdicts in this case and we remain focused on our mission to uphold the rule of law.”

The trial lasted for 10 days. The prosecution called six witnesses across three days. The defense called eight witnesses over five days.

The government claimed Mosby knew exactly what she was doing while the defense argued she did what trusted advisers told her to do.

On Monday, the jury heard hours of closing arguments. Prosecutors said Mosby knowingly told seven different lies across the two sets of mortgage applications to convince lenders to give her loans and to lock in lower interest rates during the purchase of two Florida vacation homes.

In its closing argument, the government told jurors they had all the evidence and testimony they needed — including from the defendant herself — to return guilty verdicts.

Mosby started to testify on Wednesday, answering questions from her attorney, saying she was a novice when it came to real estate. She also told the jurors about her perjury conviction from November 2023 that she intends to appeal. She said she was testifying in the mortgage fraud trial because she regretted not testifying in her perjury trial, and she wanted this jury to hear the truth.

In its closing argument on Monday, the defense argued Mosby is not guilty and urged the jury to look at the big picture, blaming her trusted advisers — including her then-husband, her realtor and her mortgage broker — for filling out the legal documents incorrectly.

Defense witnesses included Mosby’s ex-husband, Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, who testified for two days, often contradicting prior evidence and testimony — including his own.

Marilyn Mosby faces a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for making a false mortgage application. In the perjury case, she faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each of the two federal counts.

Sentencing has yet to be scheduled in either of the cases.

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