Federal prosecutors have dropped their effort to retry former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on mortgage fraud, and a judge dismissed the charge for good on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The decision ends the last open piece of a federal case that began nearly four years ago — but it does not erase Mosby’s two perjury convictions, and it leaves her law license as the main unresolved question.
For Baltimore, the case was unusual: the city’s top prosecutor, who served two terms from 2015 to early 2023, was indicted while in office over how she bought two Florida vacation homes. Here is what was dismissed, what still stands and what comes next.
What exactly did the judge dismiss?
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby granted the government’s request to dismiss Count Four, the mortgage fraud count, “with prejudice,” meaning Mosby cannot be charged with it again, FOX45 reported. Mosby agreed to the request through her lawyers, and CBS News Baltimore described it as a consent motion.
In a court filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney wrote that “the government has determined that it will not re-try Count Four,” according to the Baltimore Brew. Prosecutors also asked the court to reduce Mosby’s special assessment from $300 to $200 and enter an amended judgment reflecting the dismissal, FOX45 reported.
Why was the mortgage fraud conviction overturned in the first place?
A jury convicted Mosby of one count of mortgage fraud in February 2024 and acquitted her of a second. The conviction centered on a “gift letter” stating that her then-husband, Nick Mosby, would give her $5,000 at closing on a condominium in Longboat Key, Florida. Prosecutors argued the money actually came from Marilyn Mosby, passed through her husband and back to the closing, which helped her lock in a better interest rate.
In July 2025, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that conviction. The court found the jury had been improperly instructed on venue — where the crime could be prosecuted — and that there was no evidence Mosby sent the gift letter from Maryland, according to the Baltimore Brew. The appeals court also vacated the order requiring her to forfeit the condo. It declined to rehear the case on Jan. 16, 2026.
Does Marilyn Mosby still have a criminal record?
Yes. Her two federal perjury convictions remain in place. A jury found she falsely claimed a COVID-19 financial hardship to withdraw $90,000 from her city retirement account without penalty, money she used toward down payments on the Florida properties, the Brew reported. The 4th Circuit upheld those convictions, and earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 2022 | Federal grand jury indicts Mosby on two perjury counts and two mortgage fraud counts |
| November 2023 | First trial: jury convicts her on both perjury counts |
| February 2024 | Second trial: convicted on one mortgage fraud count, acquitted on the other |
| May 2024 | Sentenced to three years of supervised release, the first year on home detention; no prison |
| July 2025 | 4th Circuit vacates mortgage fraud conviction and condo forfeiture; upholds perjury |
| Jan. 16, 2026 | Appeals court declines rehearing |
| October 2026 | U.S. Supreme Court declines perjury appeal |
| Oct. 14, 2026 | Prosecutors decline retrial; judge dismisses mortgage fraud count with prejudice |
Does Mosby get to keep the Florida condo?
Yes. With the conviction and forfeiture order vacated and the charge dismissed, the government has no remaining path to seize the Longboat Key condo through this case. Florida public records assess the property at $420,700, according to the Brew, which reported that Mosby has sold the second property, in Kissimmee.
That outcome drew criticism. Taxpayer advocate David Williams told FOX45 the result sends a troubling message by allowing someone convicted of mortgage fraud at trial to keep the house. Attorney Kurt Nachtman told the station that prosecutors had already had one trial and that the case is now over.
What did Marilyn Mosby say?
“I thank GOD that this painful chapter of my life is finally over.”
— Marilyn Mosby, in a statement reported by FOX45
Mosby has consistently maintained her innocence. In her statement, she said the mortgage fraud conviction was “rightfully reversed and vacated,” CBS News Baltimore reported.
What happens to her law license now?
This is the open question. In July 2024, the Supreme Court of Maryland denied a request from the Attorney Grievance Commission to immediately suspend Mosby’s license, allowing her to keep practicing while her appeals were pending. At the time, the court said Baltimore Circuit Judge Yvette M. Bryant would hear the disciplinary case once the appeals ended. With the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the perjury case, the criminal appeals are now exhausted.
No hearing date for the disciplinary case has been publicly announced. Any final sanction — from a reprimand to disbarment — would be decided by the Supreme Court of Maryland.
Why does this matter for Baltimore?
Mosby became one of the most nationally visible local prosecutors in the country after charging six officers in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray. Her federal case shadowed her final years in office, and she lost the 2022 Democratic primary to current State’s Attorney Ivan Bates. The dismissal closes the federal criminal case, but the disciplinary process will decide whether she can continue practicing law in Maryland.
Featured image: Marilyn Mosby speaking at an event in February 2016. Photo: Edward Kimmel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.