The former Baltimore city prosecutor who made a name for herself in 2015 for charging six officers in the in-custody death of Freddie Gray was sentenced last month to a year of home confinement for mortgage fraud and perjury.
Former Democrat State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was convicted last November of two counts of perjury and making false statements on the loan applications for two vacation homes in Florida.
According to a May 23 press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, US District Judge Lydia Griggsby sentenced the 44-year-old Mosby to 12 months of home confinement with electronic monitoring as part of her 36-month supervised release, as well as 100 hours of community service.
The judge also ordered forfeiture of 90 percent of the value of the properties obtained through the fraudulent mortgages.
Attorneys for the former prosecutor said they would appeal the conviction while they continue pursuing a presidential pardon.
During sentencing, Judge Griggsby said that while Mosby served in public office she displayed a “pattern of dishonesty.” However, the judge decided not to put Mosby behind bars since her crimes did not involve the misuse of taxpayer money. She added that the prospect of separating Mosby’s two young children from their mother also “weighed very heavily” on her decision not to impose a prison sentence.
Assistant US Attorney Sean Delaney argued for a sentence of 20 months in prison. However, when asked by Judge Griggsby who the victims were in the crime, Delaney conceded that it was not a case of embezzlement. At the same time, he argued that when a public official lies, all citizens could be considered the victims.
Defense attorneys argued that Mosby was not convicted of public corruption and no one suffered financial loss due to her actions. They told the judge that sentencing Mosby to prison for a “minor” victimless white-collar crime would be a “grave injustice.”
Attorney Benjamin Crump accused the Justice Department of prosecuting Mosby “to send a chilling message” to “progressive prosecutors.”
In a letter last month, the Congressional Black Caucus urged President Biden to pardon Mosby, claiming that her prosecution was politically motivated.
