A federal appeals court on July 11 delivered a split decision in the high-profile case against Marilyn Mosby, the former Baltimore state’s attorney who rose to national prominence before facing criminal charges tied to her personal finances.
In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit vacated Mosby’s mortgage fraud conviction, finding that the venue for prosecuting that charge in Maryland was improper. The reversal also lifts the government’s forfeiture of her Longboat Key, Florida, condominium, which had been valued at over $900,000.
“I wish her well on her second chance,” social media user William Washington wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “She earned it.”
However, the court upheld Mosby’s perjury convictions stemming from her withdrawal of funds from her city retirement account during the COVID-19 pandemic. A federal jury previously determined Mosby falsely claimed to have suffered financial hardship in order to access the money under the CARES Act. Prosecutors said she later used those funds to help purchase two vacation properties in Florida.
Judge Stephanie Thacker, writing for the majority, concluded that evidence about how Mosby spent the withdrawn funds was admitted correctly because it helped establish whether she actually faced economic harm.
In a partial dissent, Judge Paul Niemeyer argued that the mortgage fraud charge should have remained intact, contending Mosby’s actions—generating and transmitting false documents while living in Maryland—meant the trial venue was appropriate.
Mosby, who served two terms as Baltimore’s top prosecutor, has repeatedly insisted the case was politically motivated. She had also argued that seizing nearly all of her Florida condo was excessive given the nature of her offenses.
She was sentenced in May to one year of home detention, three years of supervised release, and the forfeiture of 90 of her condominium. Her home confinement concluded last month, and a judge has since ordered the return of her passport and waived additional monitoring fees.
Mosby, who once sought a presidential pardon, has been allowed to keep her law license during her appeal.
Representatives for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland declined to comment on the appeals ruling, and Mosby’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While there have been mixed responses about Mosby’s case, some Baltimoreans took to social media to celebrate the former state’s attorney.
“I’m happy for Marilyn Mosby,” one social media user wrote on X. “She deserves so much better than what this racist system is giving her, not to mention, all of this drama is nothing but retaliation going back to the Freddie Gray murder/prosecution of Baltimore cops.”
