Current:Home > MyBenjamin Ashford|Trial opens for ex-top Baltimore prosecutor charged with perjury tied to property purchases -FutureWise Finance
Benjamin Ashford|Trial opens for ex-top Baltimore prosecutor charged with perjury tied to property purchases
SafeX Pro Exchange View
Date:2025-04-07 19:17:46
GREENBELT,Benjamin Ashford Md. (AP) — A former top Baltimore prosecutor lied about her finances during the COVID-19 pandemic to improperly access retirement funds that she used to buy two homes in Florida, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the start of Marilyn Mosby’s perjury trial.
“This case is about a lawyer and a public servant who placed her own selfish interests above the truth,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney told jurors during the trial’s opening statements.
A defense attorney countered that Mosby — who gained a national profile for prosecuting Baltimore police officers after Freddie Gray, a Black man, died in police custody — was legally entitled to withdraw the money and spend it however she wanted. Mosby told the truth when she certified on paperwork that the pandemic harmed a travel-related business that she formed, said the lawyer, Maggie Grace.
“This case is about a three-page form and what was in Marilyn Mosby’s mind when she completed that form,” said Grace, an assistant federal public defender.
Mosby, who served two terms as state’s attorney for Baltimore, was indicted on perjury charges before a Democratic primary challenger defeated her last year.
The 2022 indictment accuses her of withdrawing $90,000 in retirement funds from her city account while falsely claiming that she had suffered financial hardships from the COVID-19 pandemic. She used the withdrawals as down payments to buy a home in Kissimmee, Florida, and a condominium in Long Boat Key, Florida.
A. Scott Bolden, a lawyer who initially represented Mosby but later withdrew from the case, has described the charges as “bogus” and claimed the case is “rooted in personal, political and racial animus.”
In 2015, her first year in office, Mosby pursued criminal charges against six police officers in Freddie Gray’s death. Gray suffered a spinal injury after police handcuffed, shackled and placed him headfirst into a van. His death led to riots and protests in the city. None of the officers was convicted.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby agreed to move Mosby’s trial from Baltimore to Greenbelt, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
Mosby’s attorneys argued that she couldn’t get a fair trial in Baltimore, where they said she has been a “lightning rod” for nearly a decade, bombarded by negative press coverage and “dogged by persistent criticism of her prosecutorial priorities.”
Prosecutors said Mosby was complaining about press coverage that she had sought and encouraged.
Mosby is charged with two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements on a loan application.
Mosby made withdrawals of $40,000 and $50,000 from Baltimore city’s deferred compensation plan in 2020. Mosby received her full salary of approximately $250,000 that year.
Prosecutors say the money in the retirement account is held in trust and belongs to the city until a plan participant is eligible to make a withdrawal. They argue that Mosby wasn’t entitled under federal law to access the funds in 2020 because her business, Mahogany Elite Enterprises, did not suffer any “adverse financial consequences” from the pandemic.
“It had no clients. It made no revenue,” Delaney said.
Grace said prosecutors can’t prove that Mosby lied about her finances and knowingly made a false statement on the form for accessing her retirement funds.
“That is a high bar that the government cannot meet. And the government cannot meet it because Ms. Mosby’s is innocent,” she said.
veryGood! (729)
Related
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- No, 1 pick Victor Wembanyama is set to debut with the San Antonio Spurs and the world is watching
- Thousands of Las Vegas hotel workers fighting for new union contracts rally, block Strip traffic
- Kris Jenner Shares Why She Cheated on Robert Kardashian
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Here's What's Coming to Netflix in November 2023: The Crown & More
- Swedish court acquits Russian-born businessman of spying for Moscow
- India eases a visa ban a month after Canada alleged its involvement in a Sikh separatist’s killing
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- FDA gathering information on woman who allegedly died after drinking Panera Bread lemonade
Ranking
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Police in Illinois fatally shoot sledgehammer-wielding man after reported domestic assault
- A woman is found guilty in the UK of aiding female genital mutilation in Kenya
- Many in Niger are suffering under coup-related sanctions. Junta backers call it a worthy sacrifice
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Another University of Utah gymnast details abusive environment and names head coach
- UAW reaches tentative deal with Ford: Sources
- Many wonder how to get rid of heartburn. Here's what the experts suggest.
Recommendation
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
NFL trade deadline targets: 23 players who could be on block
Halloween alert: Test finds many chocolates contain concerning levels of metals
Acapulco residents are left in flooded and windblown chaos with hurricane’s toll still unknown
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
As world roils, US and China seek to ease strained ties and prepare for possible Biden-Xi summit
NBA winners and losers: Victor Wembanyama finishes debut with flourish after early foul trouble
Police say there’s an active shooter in Lewiston, Maine, and they are investigating multiple scenes