(Trends Wide) — The chief prosecutor for the city of Baltimore was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements in loan applications for the purchase of two Florida vacation homes, according to court documents filed Thursday.
State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who gained national attention in 2015 for charging officers in the in-custody death of Freddie Gray, now faces perjury charges herself over documents she submitted to apply for loans against her retirement plan. in 2020, according to the indictment.
In doing so, Mosby, whose term ends this year, allegedly used a retirement option created under the CARES Act, passed to help people who were financially affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
When Mosby applied for two loans against his 457(b) retirement plan, he signed documents indicating that he “experienced adverse financial consequences” due to COVID-19, according to the indictment. However, the indictment says his gross income in 2020 was $247,955.58, an increase of almost $10,000 from the previous year.
Mosby received $36,000 in May and $45,000 in December 2020 from his retirement account, according to the indictment.
The money Mosby received allegedly went toward the purchase of two vacation homes in Florida, and she is also accused of making false statements on mortgage applications, according to the indictment.
He secured a $490,500 mortgage in 2020 and a $428,400 mortgage in 2021, but failed to disclose in the applications that he owed more than $45,000 in back federal taxes, the indictment says.
Additionally, Mosby allegedly stated that she would be the primary resident of one of the homes for at least a year in order to receive a lower mortgage rate. However, he had already made an agreement with a vacation home management company to rent the house the week before, according to the indictment.
He sold one of the properties in November for a profit of $150,000, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The prosecutor’s lawyer says she is innocent
“I remain confident that once all the evidence is presented, she will prevail against these trumped-up charges, charges that are rooted in personal, political and racial animosity within five months of her election,” attorney A. Scott Bolden said in a statement.
If convicted, Mosby faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count of perjury and a maximum of 30 years for each count of making false statements on a mortgage application, according to the Maryland District Attorney’s Office. . She could also be forced to relinquish any property found to have been obtained by fraud, the indictment says.
“We’re not going to comment on anything beyond what’s in the indictment. It speaks for itself,” Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for Maryland US Attorney Erek Barron, told Trends Wide.
Mosby will have an initial appearance in US District Court in Baltimore, but a hearing has not yet been scheduled, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Mosby was elected as Baltimore City State’s Attorney in 2014 and re-elected in 2018.
In 2015, he charged six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody after sustaining a neck injury while being driven unbelted in the back of a police van.
His death became a symbol of the black community’s mistrust of the police and sparked days of protests and riots in Baltimore. None of the six officers arrested was convicted.
