Baltimore’s former top prosecutor convicted of fraud for lying about financial hardships to buy a beach house with federal funds during the pandemic will not serve any prison time.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Ereck Barron announced Thursday that Marilyn Mosby, 44, was sentenced to 12 months’ house arrest, 100 hours of community service and three years’ probation.
The former prosecutor was convicted of multiple felony charges in two separate trials, one this year and one last fall.
At a sentencing hearing in Prince County, U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Grigsby sentenced Mosby to house arrest with electronic monitoring and also ordered the forfeiture of 90 percent of the real estate Mosby purchased with fraudulently obtained mortgages.
Mosby gained national attention in 2015 when he sued six Baltimore Police Department officers for their role in the death of Freddie Gray. Gray, a 25-year-old black man, suffered severe spinal cord injuries while traveling without a seatbelt in the back of a van on the way to the police station and died in police custody a week later.
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The prosecution sought a 20-month sentence.
Under the law, Mosby could face up to 35 years in prison for fraud and perjury convictions.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean R. Delaney and Aaron S. J. Zelinsky prosecuted the federal case. They had argued for a maximum sentence of 20 months in prison, according to federal court records.
“The court agrees that these are very serious crimes and that this conduct epitomizes misconduct,” Grigsby told Mosby in court, The Baltimore Sun reported. “This misconduct occurred while you held the highest ranking position as Baltimore City prosecutor.”
The outlet reported that Mosby’s crimes did not have “victims in the traditional sense,” but Grigsby said she “betrayed those in the community who looked up to her.”
The judge also acknowledged Mosby’s record of public service and said his two daughters had the “most significant influence” on his sentencing decision, The Sun reported.
What was Marilyn Mosby convicted of?
In February, Mosby was convicted of filing a false mortgage application in connection with the purchase of a condominium in Longboat Key, Fla., while he was state’s attorney for Baltimore City. A jury acquitted Mosby of filing a false mortgage application in connection with the purchase of a home in Kissimmee, Fla.
Months earlier, in November, a jury found Mosby guilty of two counts of perjury in connection with his withdrawal of funds from the city’s deferred compensation plan during the pandemic, when he was Baltimore City prosecutor, citing “adverse financial impacts.”
In a statement released by his office, Barron praised the work of FBI and IRS-CI agents in the investigation and expressed gratitude to the Baltimore City Office of Inspector General for its assistance in the case.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
