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Marilyn Mosby, a former city attorney for the city of Baltimore, claims she had plans to launch a travel business for black women professionals while she was still the city’s top attorney, but the COVID-19 19 canceled those plans in 2020 after the pandemic devastated the travel industry, new court documents say.
Whether this allegation is true could be central to Mosby’s upcoming federal trial on perjury and mortgage fraud charges.
Federal prosecutors say the allegation is Mosby attempting to surreptitiously testify without running for office. He seems poised to argue that he was eligible for an early withdrawal from his retirement account based on
Mosby has been accused of lying about being unable to withdraw downpayments on two vacation homes in Florida due to pandemic-related hardships.
Mosby told defense experts he plans to host a launch event for his travel business, Mahogany Elite Enterprises, in 2020, according to new court documents. While she was a state attorney, she ran the business.
Mosby’s allegations are among a number of documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore late Monday. Two of Mosby’s allegations have been filed under seal since Mosby was indicted in January 2022.
What’s been made public indicates that it’s likely to be another long-running battle over expert witnesses ahead of Mosby’s trial.
Mosby’s trial was previously postponed, and was postponed twice, due to disagreements over expert witnesses. Jury selection for the case is currently set to begin March 23, but Mosby is also seeking to move her trial to Greenbelt for her pre-trial publicity.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Grigsby will consider a number of motions, including requests to change venue, at a January 17 hearing.
The indictment against Mosby also alleges that she failed to disclose a $45,000 IRS lien, lied about the origin of a $5,000 “gift” from her husband, and applied for a mortgage on two Florida vacation homes. It also alleges that he made other false statements when he did.
Both the defense and the prosecution have proposed expert witnesses who can testify about Mosby’s finances and the mortgage approval process. Both sides argue that the other’s witnesses should be barred from testifying.
CPA Joshua A. Johnston, one of the government’s proposed witnesses, testifies that Mosby suffered no financial setbacks to qualify for withdrawal of money from his retirement account under the CARES Act. .
“Ms. Mosby’s use of income from her (coronavirus-related distributions) to fund new investments in Florida real estate is an indication that she has been able to overcome the current income shortfall that the CARES Act sought to address.” It provides strong evidence of something we hadn’t experienced before,” Johnston wrote in his summary of conclusions.
Johnston also testifies that one of Mosby’s expert witnesses, Jerome Schmidt, violated professional standards when he concluded that Mosby suffered pandemic-related losses.
Schmidt, a defense expert, says Mosby told him about her plans to launch Mahogany Elite in 2020.
Mosby’s business has been a source of question since Baltimore Brew reported its existence in July 2020. The Baltimore Inspector General investigated the business and Mosby’s extensive travels at Mosby’s request. The resulting report nearly cleared her of cheating in early 2021.
The investigation “found no evidence of earnings or income associated with SA Mosby’s company since its inception,” although Mosby reportedly spent more than $7,000 on the business in 2019.
Mosby’s lawyers also seek sanctions against prosecutors for failing to extradite Brady Materials or evidence that may be useful in defense.
Mosby’s attorneys could also be sanctioned for including confidential information from jury questionnaires in previous court filings. Grigsby plans to consider the issue next week, along with a government request for a gag order to stop Mosby’s lawyer from speaking to the media.
Mosby is no longer a Baltimore attorney. Her former prosecutor and attorney, Ivan Bates, took over the position last week after defeating her in the Democratic primary in July.
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