Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby could be facing more legal woes in addition to her federal trial on perjury and fraud charges.
On Thursday, the Baltimore City Board of Ethics determined that City Council President Nick Mosby violated city ethics rules by not disclosing donations to a legal defense fund set up by him and his wife.
At issue, city ethics rules require officials to disclose gifts of more than $20 given by certain individuals. Those include lobbyists and people who do business with the city.
In an email, Nick Mosby denied that he violated the city's ethics rules.
The state follows the same rules and they apply to State's Attorneys like Marilyn Mosby.
On her most recent state ethics disclosure form, Marilyn Mosby did not list any gifts from the legal defense fund. Marilyn Mosby listed one gift on the form: about $1,000 in expenses from a criminal justice conference in Maine.
At the time, defense attorney Jeremy Eldridge said it was unusual that no donations were listed on Marilyn Mosby's state ethics form. The city ethics report confirms that the legal defense fund did indeed receive donations, almost $15,000 worth.
"I believe that this is an oversight with potentially criminal liability. This is a form that is submitted under the penalty of perjury, and Marilyn Mosby has a history of having some difficulty filling out forms accurately," Eldridge said in April. "If there were any monies that were donated to the Mosby 2021 Defense Fund, that money would constitute a gift and should have been included on this form."
Furthermore, the city report said the legal defense fund did not vet its donors in any way. A member of the ethics board donated a small amount to the fund using a fake name, a proxy email address, and a nonexistent physical address. No one associated with the fund attempted to verify that person's identity.
Requests for comment from the Office of the State Prosecutor and Jennifer Allgair, the executive director of the Maryland State Ethics board, were not immediately returned.
Mosby is facing four federal charges accused of lying on mortgage applications and improperly withdrawing money from her retirement account by falsely claiming COVID-related financial hardships.
Despite pushing for a speedy trial in various public settings, Mosby’s attorney requested a delay in the trial. The federal judge granted the request and now Mosby will face a jury trial on Sept. 19.
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