Monday, March 21, 2022

Criminal charges against justice official in Maryland raise this question: Will former Alabama U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town be next in the crosshairs for the feds

Jay E. Town

A justice official in Maryland has been indicted on mortgage-fraud charges. That's a serious matter, but the charges appear to pale in comparison to allegations of misconduct that have been swirling around a former Alabama justice official for months. We are talking about Jay E. Town, a Trump nominee for U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Alabama. An analysis at banbalch.com (BB) suggests the charges in Maryland might be minor league compared to the allegations surrounding Town. Does that mean Town soon could be the target of a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, much like the one in Maryland? BB publisher K.B. Forbes shares his thoughts on that question

Creating national headlines, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for Maryland indicted Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in January for alleged mortgage fraud.

The Baltimore Sun reported:

Mosby is charged with two counts of making false statements on a loan application and two counts of perjury. Mosby has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is expected to stand trial in early May. 

The Office of the U.S. Attorney in Maryland gave more details:

According to the four-count indictment… Mosby submitted “457(b) Coronavirus-Related Distribution Requests” for one-time withdrawals of $40,000 and $50,000, respectively, from City of Baltimore’s Deferred Compensation Plans.  In each request, the indictment alleges that Mosby falsely certified that she met at least one of the qualifications for a distribution as defined under the CARES Act, specifically, that she experienced adverse financial consequences from the Coronavirus as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, or laid off; having reduced work hours; being unable to work due to lack of childcare; or the closing or reduction of hours of a business she owned or operated.  The indictment alleges that Mosby did not experience any such financial hardships and in fact, Mosby received her full gross salary of $247,955.58….

Further, the indictment alleges that… Mosby made false statements in applications for a $490,500 mortgage to purchase a home in Kissimmee, Florida and for a $428,400 mortgage to purchase a condominium in Long Boat Key, Florida.  As part of both applications, Mosby was required to disclose her liabilities.  Mosby did not disclose on either application that she had unpaid federal taxes from a number of previous years ….

For anyone who follows legal news in Alabama, the mind naturally turns to Jay Town. Forbes indicates that's where the DOJ's focus should rest, too:

The allegations  against Mosby are nothing compared to the serious and appalling alleged misconduct by Ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town who fled in the middle of the night after resigning in disgrace.

Sources confirmed to us this week that the alleged federal probe involving Town, Alabama Power’s secret million-dollar contracts, embattled law firm Balch and Bingham, the Matrix Meltdown, and alleged obstruction of justice is ablaze.  

And what are just a few of Town’s acts of alleged misconduct?

Here’s that list again:

How does the Town laundry list compare to the case in Maryland? Forbes summarizes nicely:

The alleged felonies and crimes connected to Town’s alleged prosecutorial misconduct is much worse than a prosecutor lying about her financial situation on a loan application or falsely alleging “hardship” to withdraw her retirement funds.

Today, Town would have been a U.S. Senate candidate. But the jaw-dropping photos and our three letters to the Office of Professional Responsibility at the U.S. Department of Justice ended his political career.

Now Town, Crosswhite, and other Balch stooges must face the consequences for their alleged foolish and corrupt misconduct.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The woman in Baltimore got nailed for taking money out of her retirement account? Sheesh.

legalschnauzer said...

The case in Baltimore smells like a political prosecution to me, like someone wanted Ms. Mosby out of office for political reasons.

legalschnauzer said...

The issues related to the properties in Florida might have been the bigger red flags in the Maryland case, but I still wonder if the whole thing is legit.

legalschnauzer said...

Jay Town was a Richard Shelby political hack from the get-go, so not sure he ever had any intention of being a real U.S. attorney.

Shaheed Abdulazeez said...

So the loan officer didn't do due diligence? Nothing came back on her credit report?

legalschnauzer said...

Good questions, Shaheed.