Lawyers Say Man Arrested for Organ Trafficking is a “Lifesaver”

The lawyers of an Israeli man who has been arrested in connection with black marketing of organs in the United States said that the man was a lifesaver. Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, 60, was arrested for brokering the sales of organ transplants, illegal in the United States since 1984. Rosenbaum pleaded guilty to the charge after the FBI carried out an undercover operation. The 60-year old real estate agent said that three people had paid him a total of $410,000 while an undercover FBI agent paid him $10,000.

Rosenbaum is being tried at a federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, where his lawyers said that he was a lifesaver and there were no risks to both the donors and the patients as the surgeries occurred in prestigious American hospitals and involved experienced surgeons.

Detailing how he conducted the sales, Rosenbaum said that he coordinated with both the donor and the recipient to come up with a cover story in order to mislead the hospitals into believing that the donation was a voluntary act and not a commercial transaction.

Rosenbaum will be sentenced by the court on February 2 next year and may face up to five years in prison for each of the four counts. He has already forfeited $420,000 and may also be deported back to Israel.

Source-Medindia