Ex-Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby walked into a Maryland courthouse ahead of her sentencing hearing on Thursday, May 23.
Mosby smiled at supporters who applauded when she got out of an SUV with her two teenage daughters. She faces up to 40 years in prison.
During defense presentations, Mosby’s brother, Alan, told the judge that she is “an amazing mother” who is doing “everything she can” for her children.
Prosecutors said Mosby used a bogus COVID hardship claim to withdraw money from retirement accounts to buy two vacation homes in Florida.
During her sentencing hearing, a federal judge ordered Mosby to forfeit her luxury condo in Florida to the government.
Previously, Mosby pleaded with President Biden to show her “grace” and “justice” ahead of her sentencing hearing.
In February, a jury convicted Mosby of lying on a mortgage loan application. A separate jury convicted her of improperly accessing retirement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Mosby’s lawyers submitted an application for a pardon to the U.S. Department of Justice. They argued that she was legally entitled to withdraw her retirement money and spend it however she wanted.
But the law is clear: no early withdrawals from retirement accounts except in an emergency or financial hardship.
Mosby’s lawyers argued that she was convicted for federal offenses “that entail no victim, no financial loss, and no use of public funds.”
“Jail is not justice for Marilyn Mosby,” her lawyers wrote to the DOJ.
Additionally, over 60 lawyers, including civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, have asked Biden to grant Mosby’s pardon.
The Biden administration acknowledged receiving Mosby’s pardon application. However, Biden officials have declined to comment on her request.
