Federal prosecutors finished presenting their case Wednesday against former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who’s accused of repeatedly lying on mortgage applications to influence lenders related to the purchase of two luxury vacation homes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney said the government was resting after its sixth witness, a federal investigator, forensic accountant Jenna Bender, finished her testimony. The defense then began presenting its case and called Kelli Mabrey, a postal worker, who testified that she never interacted with Mosby or delivered her mail at the home where she used to live with her husband and two children at the time in Baltimore.
But U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby later abruptly adjourned the trial until Thursday for reasons that are unclear.
“We were fully prepared to call a witness,” Federal Public Defender James Wyda, one of Mosby’s attorneys, told Griggsby. “We have witnesses that we have lined up for the next few days. We don’t want to deviate from our order, and we hope the issues can be resolved.”
Griggsby responded that “you know what the issues are, and certainly they’re not new to the defense.”
Mosby, 44, a Democrat who served two terms as the city’s top prosecutor from 2015-23, is standing trial in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on two counts of making a false statement on a loan application. She’s accused of repeatedly lying on mortgage applications — including not disclosing that she and her husband owed tens of thousands of dollars in federal taxes or reporting that the Internal Revenue Service had obtained a more than $45,000 tax lien against them — related to the purchase of a home in Kissimmee, Florida, and a condominium in Longboat Key, Florida.
Her now ex-husband, Nick Mosby, a Democrat who’s president of Baltimore City Council, arrived earlier at the courthouse. He’s on the list of potential witnesses.
Following the court proceedings, Nick Mosby told reporters he’s not sure if he’s coming back on Thursday.
“Talk to the judge about it. I wasn’t in the courtroom,” he said. “You have to talk to the government. I’m just here to support my family.”
In her opening statement, Assistant Federal Public Defender Sedira Banan, one of Marilyn Mosby’s attorneys, said their client acted in good faith and trusted and relied upon loved ones and licensed professionals during the mortgage process.
Her legal team previously sought to introduce several out-of-court statements. That’s including one in which her husband purportedly told a banker when he first solely applied for a loan to pay off the tax lien, “It’s my obligation. I want to take care of it.”
Marilyn Mosby was found guilty in 2023 of two counts of perjury after a jury concluded that she lied to withdraw $90,000 from a retirement account under a provision in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. She used the money for down payments on the home and condo.
Meanwhile, Marilyn Mosby’s attorneys filed a motion for judgment of acquittal that in part claims the government failed to prove any of the false statements alleged in the case were submitted or received in Maryland.
“We think it’s meritless and groundless,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Zelinsky, who asked to argue against the motion in court.
Instead, Griggsby gave the government until the close of business Friday to respond in writing. The defense will have until the end of the day Monday to file a reply.
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