Appeals Court vacates Mosby's mortgage fraud conviction, upholds perjury charges

Todd Karpovich, The Baltimore Sun on Jul 11, 2025

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A federal appeals court on Friday vacated former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s mortgage fraud conviction, while upholding two separate perjury convictions, according to newly filed court records.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled 2-1 that Mosby’s mortgage fraud case had been improperly tried in Maryland. Judges Stephanie Thacker and G. Steven Agee ruled in favor of the former prosecutor. Judge Paul Niemeyer wrote a separate opinion, concurring in part and dissenting in part of the majority decision.

The court said the jury received “erroneous instruction” about the proper venue for the case. As a result, it reversed the conviction and the federal government’s seizure of her Florida condominium.

“We agree with Appellant that the district court’s jury charge with respect to venue in her mortgage fraud trial was erroneous,” Thacker wrote in the filing. “On that ground, we vacate Appellant’s mortgage fraud conviction without reaching her remaining arguments. And because the district court’s forfeiture order hinges on the mortgage fraud conviction, it is likewise vacated.”

An attorney for Mosby was not listed in court records, and she could not be reached for comment.

In upholding Mosby’s two perjury convictions, the panel sided with the trial judge’s determination that evidence concerning her retirement fund withdrawals was both relevant and admissible.

“We discern no error in the district court’s adjudication of Appellant’s perjury convictions,” the court wrote.

Mosby, 45, completed a year-long sentence of home detention on June 20, according to a judge’s order. The ruling came after she filed motions earlier in the week seeking the return of her passport and a waiver of a $1,447.23 location monitoring fee — conditions that had restricted her ability to travel.

Mosby, who served as Baltimore’s State’s Attorney from 2015 to 2023, was convicted of two counts of perjury and one count of mortgage fraud — all federal offenses — after leaving office. She was sentenced to home detention in May 2024 and began serving her sentence the following month.

The perjury charges stemmed from Mosby’s use of the federal CARES Act, which allowed individuals facing financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic to withdraw retirement funds without penalties. Prosecutors argued that she falsely claimed hardship to access tens of thousands of dollars from her retirement account, despite earning more in 2020 than she had in the previous year.

In a separate trial in 2024, a jury found Mosby guilty of using those retirement funds as down payments on two luxury vacation properties in Florida valued at more than $1 million combined.

Mosby was confined to her Fells Point home and common areas of her apartment complex while on home detention but was still permitted to travel for work, childcare responsibilities, medical appointments and meetings with her legal team. Mosby had to get permission to travel to all other events, such as a barbecue held in her honor that she attended last summer in Clarksville.

Mosby first rose to national prominence in 2015 when she charged six Baltimore police officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who died in police custody. The case drew national attention amid widespread protests and unrest. After three trials ended without convictions, Mosby dropped charges against the remaining officers.

Mosby has attracted supporters, including the NAACP, Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., and a coalition of more than 50 attorneys, who have asked former President Joe Biden to offer her a pardon. A petition for that pardon garnered 98,140 signatures, but Biden did not consent to the proposed clemency.

“Marilyn Mosby has dedicated her career to seeking justice and fighting for the underserved in Baltimore,” King said on X. “Recently, she has faced extreme scrutiny for actions that are legal and understandable.”

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