REACTION TONIGHT. KATE. THE JURY HANDED DOWN ITS VERDICT ABOUT A 30 MINUTES AGO OR SO. SO MARILYN MOSBY, GUILTY ON COUNT TWO. IN THIS CASE, GUILTY OF ONE COUNT OF MORTGAGE FRAUD FOR LYING ABOUT THE SOURCE OF $5,000 THAT SHE WAS ALLEGEDLY GIFTED AT CLOSING. THAT IS WHAT SHE WAS FOUND GUILTY OF TODAY. SHE WAS STANDING TRIAL HERE ON TWO COUNTS OF MORTGAGE FRAUD RELATED TO A TWO PURCHASES OF FLORIDA VACATION PROPERTIES, A HOME IN KISSIMMEE IN 2020. THE JURY FOUND HER NOT GUILTY OF THAT CHARGE. THE CHARGE CONNECTED TO THAT HOME SALE SHE WAS, HOWEVER, FOUND GUILTY OF MORTGAGE FRAUD RELATED TO HER PURCHASE OF A CONDOMINIUM ON THE FLORIDA GULF COAST IN FEBRUARY 2021. WE’RE WAITING FOR THE PROSECUTION TO COME OUT AND TALK TO US. POSSIBLY. THEY HAVE YET TO LEAVE THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE. MARILYN MOSBY LEFT A FEW MOMENTS AGO, SHE SAID NOTHING. ONE MEMBER OF HER ENTOURAGE MADE AN OBSCENE GESTURE WHEN WE ASKED FOR COMMENT. OTHER THAN THAT, WE GOT NO COMMENT FROM MARILYN MOSBY OR HER TEAM. WE ALSO GOT NO COMMENT FROM MARYLAND. MOSBY’S LEAD DEFENSE ATTORNEY, JIM WEEDA. HE’S REPRESENTED HER AT THIS TRIAL, AS WELL AS HER FIRST TRIAL, WHICH WAS A PERJURY TRIAL THAT WAS BACK IN NOVEMBER, AND THAT FEDERAL JURY CONVICTED HER ON BOTH COUNTS OF PERJURY IN THAT CASE, WE DO NOT KNOW ANY DETAILS YET ABOUT WHEN SENTENCING WILL HAPPEN IN THIS CASE. WE KNOW SENTENCING IN THE PERJURY CASE WAS SET TO TAKE PLACE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS CASE. BUT JIM, TO NO COMMENT FROM HIM OR MARILYN MOSBY’S OTHER TWO FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDERS ON THEIR WAY OUT OF COURT TODAY. AGAIN, NO COMMENT FROM MARILYN MOSBY HERSELF. ONE OTHER NOTE HERE. THIS TRIAL FOR THIS JURY STRETCHED ACROSS FOUR WEEKS. JURY SELECTION WAS WEEK ONE. THE TRIAL ITSELF WAS THREE WEEKS, A TOTAL OF TEN DAYS. THE JURY GOT THE CASE JUST BEFORE 5 P.M. LAST NIGHT. CAME BACK HERE AT 930 THIS MORNING, WORKED AS FAR AS WE KNOW ALL DAY LONG, AND THEN DELIVERED THE VERDICT SHORTLY AFTER 530. AGAIN, THE STORY HERE FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT IN GREENBELT TONIGHT. MARYLAND. MOSBY HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY AT HER SECOND FEDERAL CRIMINAL TRIAL CONNECTED TO THE SAME MATTER. IT WAS SEPARATED. THE TWO CASES SEPARATED INTO TWO TRIALS AND MOVED HERE TO GREENBELT. AT HER REQUEST, AND IN THE END, SHE WAS CONVICTED ON THREE CHARGES ACROSS FOUR DIFFERENT COUNTS IN THOSE TWO CASES, REPORTING LIVE FROM GREENBELT TONIGHT, I’M KATE AMARA WBAL, TV 11 NEWS. KATE, BEFORE YOU GO, AND WHILE WE’RE WAITING FOR THE PROSECUTOR KHERSON DESCRIBE FOR US. I KNOW THAT SHE DID NOT SPEAK COMING OUT, BUT SHE DID HAVE A REACTION IN THE COURTROOM AS THE SPLIT VERDICT WAS READ. DESCRIBE THAT TO US. THAT’S RIGHT. SO COUNT ONE WAS READ FIRST, FOLLOWED BY COUNT TWO WHEN COUNT ONE THAT WAS RELATED TO HER PURCHASE OF A HOME IN KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA. WHEN THAT VERDICT WAS READ AS NOT GUILTY, THERE WAS A BIG GASP. SHE GASPED. YOU COULD HEAR IT AND YOU COULD HEAR HER. MAYBE SILENTLY, IT SOUNDED LIKE A SILENT SOB. AND THEN CAME COUNT TWO, IN WHICH THE IT WAS READ GUILTY, AND THERE WAS A GASP AND A HUGE SOB, AND YOU COULD HEAR HER AUDIBLY CRYING IN COURT. AND AFTER THAT, THE JURY WAS ASKED ON WHICH ALLEGED LIE WAS, DID YOU UNANIMOUSLY AGREE THAT SHE COMMITTED? THERE WAS FOUR CHOICES FOR COUNT TWO, AND THE JURY FOUND OF THOSE FOUR ALLEGED LIES, ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT, THEY ALL AGREED THAT SHE LIED ABOUT THE SOURCE OF $5,000 IN CLOSING FUNDS AND QUITE FRANKLY, SHE TOLD THE JURY HERSELF IN HER OWN TESTIMONY AT THIS TRIAL, SHE SAID SHE WAS THE SOURCE OF THE MONEY, EVEN THOUGH SHE TOLD THE LENDER IT WAS COMING FROM HER THEN HUSBAND, NICK MOSBY. SHE SAID SHE DID IT JUST IN CASE HE WOULDN’T HAVE THE FUNDS. BUT SHE ADMITTED OUTRIGHT THAT THE MONEY WAS HERS AND THAT WAS AGAINST THE LAW. THE JURY CONVICTED HER ON THAT COUNT, DELIVERED THAT VERDICT TONIGHT. DEB, ALL RIGHT, KATE, THANK YOU. A SPLIT VERDICT ON THE MARILYN MOSBY FEDERAL TRIAL. THANK YOU. BALTIMORE HEARD KATE’S BREAKING UPDATE FIRST IN THE WBAL TV APP. READ HER SYNOPSIS OF THIS TRIAL AND GET REACTION IN TH
Jury reaches split verdict Marilyn Mosby’s federal mortgage fraud trial
Mosby found guilty on charge relating to condo purchase in Long Boat Key, Florida
Updated: 6:57 PM EST Feb 6, 2024
Jurors in Marilyn Mosby’s federal mortgage fraud trial returned a split verdict Tuesday afternoon. The verdictMosby, 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 VerdictCount one: Not guiltyCount two: GuiltyThe 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.Reaction to the verdictAt 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.”Timeline of the case as it was presented at trialThe 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.The government’s closing argumentOn 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.The defense team’s closing argumentIn 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.Sentencing guidelinesMarilyn 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.
Jurors in Marilyn Mosby’s federal mortgage fraud trial returned a split verdict Tuesday afternoon.
The verdict
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.
Reaction to the verdict
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.”
Timeline of the case as it was presented at trial
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.
The government’s closing argument
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.
The defense team’s closing argument
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.
Sentencing guidelines
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.
