The jury will start deliberating on Tuesday in the mortgage fraud trial of former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Mosby, 44, a Democrat who served two terms as the city’s top prosecutor from 2015-2023, is charged in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt with two counts of making a false statement on a loan application. Federal prosecutors allege that she lied to influence lenders when she bought a home in Kissimmee, Florida, not far from Walt Disney World, and a condominium in Longboat Key, Florida, on the state’s Gulf Coast.

U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby dismissed the jury on Monday after it heard closing arguments and instructions in the case.

Mosby testified that she relied on family members and licensed professionals because she was a prosecutor — not a real estate attorney — and had never bought real estate before. She said she believed that the information contained in the mortgage applications was truthful and accurate.

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In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Zelinsky said the case was about “lies and responsibility.”

Mosby lied over and over again to buy the two vacation homes in Florida, he said, and blames “everyone except herself” including her now ex-husband, her mortgage broker, her real estate agent and her mail carrier.

“There is only one person responsible for these lies,” Zelinsky said. “The only person responsible for these lies is the person who lied over and over and over again, the former chief prosecutor for the city of Baltimore: Marilyn J. Mosby.”

Later, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney repeatedly urged jurors to use their common sense.

But Assistant Federal Public Defender Maggie Grace, one of Mosby’s attorneys, said in her closing argument that the case was not about “a few items in documents.”

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“The verdict must be based on the whole picture, the full context,” Grace said. “And the context involves trust, complex human relationships and love.”

“You will see that the evidence is the reality of life. And the reality of life is messy and complicated,” she added. “But complicated does not mean criminal.”

Grace said her client was not placing blame on anyone else but wanted the jury to see the full picture. Mosby, she said, acted in good faith and did not knowingly make any false statements on the mortgage applications.

Following closing arguments, Federal Public Defender James Wyda, one of Mosby’s attorneys, unsuccessfully asked the judge to question jurors in the case before reading her instructions.

Wyda said the judge informed the parties that two members of the court staff made three comments or sets of comments that were “negative, and in some instances, offensive” about his client.

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“I’m deeply, deeply disappointed that these statements occurred,” Griggsby said. “Frankly, was shocked that these statements occurred.”

But Griggsby said the court conducted an investigation and determined that there was no way the jury could have heard the remarks.

Mosby was found guilty in 2023 of two counts of perjury after a jury determined that she twice lied to withdraw $90,000 from a retirement account under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. She used the money to buy the home and condo.

By choosing to testify, the jury heard about her previous convictions.

Mosby faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each count, but people often receive punishments that are much lower. The Maryland Office of Bar Counsel is also looking to suspend her law license.

Dylan Segelbaum

dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com

Dylan Segelbaum

Dylan Segelbaum is the courts reporter at The Baltimore Banner.

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