Baltimore’s former top prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, was sentenced Thursday to a year of home confinement, followed by two years of supervised release for federal convictions of mortgage fraud and perjury.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby handed down the sentence late Thursday afternoon in front of a packed courtroom. She also ordered Mosby to forfeit her Florida vacation house, though Mosby will get back her down payment and 10 percent of the appreciated value, The Associated Press reports. Mosby’s defense team is expected to ask for a stay as they pursue an appeal. Mosby will also be required to complete 100 hours of community service.
“I’m just so incredibly grateful,” Mosby told supporters outside the courthouse. “This is not over, but God was here today,” according to the AP.
The 44-year-old was convicted in February of making a false mortgage application to secure a lower interest rate. This conviction followed a November 2023 conviction on two counts of perjury related to the withdrawal of funds from the city of Baltimore’s Deferred Compensation Plan.
Prosecutors argued that Mosby withdrew $90,000 from her retirement plan under the claim that the pandemic had harmed her travel-oriented side business, but she actually used the funds to buy two vacation homes in Florida.
Though Mosby’s defense countered that she paid an early withdrawal penalty and all federal taxes on the $90,000, prosecutors said the money belonged to the city until Mosby was legally eligible to claim it.
Prosecutors also argued that Mosby lied on a home mortgage application by claiming that she received a $5,000 gift from her then-husband to close on a Florida condominium.
“Without the gift letter, the loan would never have been provided, and Ms. Mosby would not have obtained the property. No gift letter, no loan,” prosecutors said.
Griggsby agreed, saying Mosby wouldn’t have received approval for the loan if she had not submitted a false $5,000 gift letter from her then-husband.
Mosby had faced up to 40 years in prison for her convictions, though her lawyers argued against any jail time. Prosecutors on Thursday called for 20 months of incarceration.
Several Black leaders from around the country has shown suport for Mosby. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP, had urged President Biden to issue a presidential pardon for her. They claim she was wrongfully targeted by the Trump administration for her racial justice policies.
On Thursday, crowds gathered outside the court, many in support of Mosby, and some clapped when Mosby’s sentence was announced.
Crump, who spoke on behalf of Mosby, said her crimes were victimless and “white-collar.”
“The prosecution of Marilyn Mosby seems intended to send a chilling message to our progressive prosecutors,” he said. Crump added that imprisoning Mosby would further traumatize her two teenage daughters.
Griggsby appeared to agree with Crump in her ruling, stating that Mosby’s crimes didn’t involve any taxpayer money and the prospect of separating Mosby from her two young daughters “weighed very heavily” on her decision.
But, Griggsby said, “it’s also a sad day for the city of Baltimore.” She said Mosby had displayed a “pattern of dishonesty” while serving in a public office.
Mosby’s lawyers said they will appeal and continue to seek a presidential pardon.
