Court Excludes Prior Investigations in Mosby Perjury Case

BALTIMORE — During a pretrial hearing on Wednesday, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby faced charges of perjury and making false statements regarding her mortgage applications for two vacation homes in Florida.

The court ruled in favor of Mosby's defense, determining that prior investigations into her conduct would not be admissible in her trial.

Federal prosecutors allege that Mosby misrepresented her financial situation in 2020 when she withdrew $90,000 from her city Deferred Compensation Plan, claiming COVID-related financial hardships. At that time, applicants were permitted to make such withdrawals only if they could demonstrate genuine financial distress due to the pandemic.

Despite receiving her full salary of nearly $250,000, prosecutors argue that Mosby falsely asserted she was facing financial difficulties. Her defense attorney, Scott A. Bolden, contended that her private businesses suffered losses due to the pandemic.

However, an investigation by the Inspector General found no evidence of revenue from these businesses, although it did uncover $5,000 in expenses reported on Mosby's 2019 tax return. Additionally, Mosby failed to disclose her businesses on a state financial disclosure form that year.

Further complicating her case, Mosby allegedly denied knowledge of a $45,022 tax lien imposed on her and her husband’s properties due to unpaid taxes from 2014 to 2015. Records indicate that the IRS had sent multiple notifications to her home regarding the debt.

The court also denied several other motions from the defense, including a request to exclude a forensic accountant as an expert witness and to eliminate evidence regarding how Mosby utilized her withdrawn funds. The prosecution argued that the relevance of the funds' usage is straightforward, asserting that any adverse financial consequences should have been mitigated by those funds.

If convicted, Mosby could face a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison.

Reported by HarborBeat based on WMAR 2 News Baltimore (source).