Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has purchased two homes in Florida for more than $1 million combined since September, including a condo on the Gulf of Mexico that closed just days before her campaign said it was exploring setting up a legal defense fund for her mounting attorneys’ fees.
Mosby bought a condominium on a barrier island just north of Sarasota for $476,000 in February. She financed the Longboat Key property with a 30-year, $428,400 loan, according to Sarasota County property records.
Meanwhile, property records in Osceola County show Mosby paid $545,000 in September for a 4,000-square-foot property near Disney World. The records show Mosby used a $490,500 loan for that purchase in Kissimmee.
Mosby and her husband, City Council President Nick Mosby, are under criminal investigation by a federal grand jury looking into her campaign, their businesses and their tax returns dating back to 2014, The Baltimore Sun reported Friday.
The Longboat Observer in Florida reported last month on the transaction there, while Baltimore Brew reported both purchases Sunday.
A. Scott Bolden, the attorney for the Democratic officials, said Sunday that the purchase of the Longboat Key condo was “a nothing story.”
“She works. She’s an elected official. She has savings,” Bolden said, adding “she bought another home for her family” when asked about the Longboat Key property. He said he did not have any information as to the Kissimmee property.
Monday afternoon, Bolden emailed an expanded statement.
““So what? Ms. Mosby, recently purchased a condo and a second home that she rents out when she is not there. So what?! Mrs. Mosby earns a salary, has savings, a lender and a credit score—all to support her family and she has a legitimate ability to purchase properties and invest her money anyway she chooses,” Bolden wrote. “This should not be news, nor does it merit a federal investigation.”
Marilyn Mosby has one of the city’s highest salaries: $238,772, while Nick Mosby’s annual salary is $128,583.
Records show Mosby purchased the Longboat Key home from Mustard Seed Group LLC on Feb. 12. A listing stated the two-bedroom, two-bathroom home was built in 1984 and is 1,433 square feet.
Four days after the Longboat Key purchase, Mosby’s campaign said in a statement that it sought to “establish an appropriate mechanism to set up a legal defense fund for the tens of thousands of dollars in additional costs” stemming from investigations of her finances.
Loan records state Mosby signed a “Second Home Rider” on both loans. It states she “will occupy and use the Property as Borrower’s second home” and will not purchase it as a timeshare “or other shared ownership arrangement.”
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The Mosbys’ finances are under scrutiny in the federal investigation in Baltimore. The U.S. attorney’s office has requested a number of financial records linked to the couple, including tax returns, bank statements, credit card statements, loan documents and canceled checks.
Marilyn Mosby’s campaign treasurer was subpoenaed to provide records to the grand jury, and several Baltimore pastors said they received subpoenas connected to Nick Mosby. Federal agents visited Nick Mosby at City Hall less than two weeks ago, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Among the records prosecutors sought are those connected to Marilyn Mosby’s Mahogany Elite Travel and Consulting. She has said Mahogany was formed to help underserved Black families vacation around the world at affordable rates and exists in name only.
The Internal Revenue Service filed a $45,000 lien against the couple’s Baltimore home in October for three years worth of unpaid taxes. Nick Mosby said in December that the lien was paid, despite online court records showing the opposite. He has declined to discuss the matter further.
The state’s attorney has also been in a battle with the city’s inspector general after the office issued a report in mid-February saying that Mosby spent 144 days away from her office in 2018 and 2019, which Mosby has disputed.
The Mosbys have maintained they’ve done nothing wrong and will cooperate with federal investigators. In a statement last week, Bolden said the investigation was “a political witch hunt in its purest form.”
Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton contributed to this article.