It was reported on Thursday that Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, 60, from Brooklyn, NY, not a licensed physician or medical professional, has pled guilty for brokering at illegal kidney transplants market.
“A black market in human organs is not only a grave threat to public health, it reserves lifesaving treatment for those who can best afford it at the expense of those who cannot,” New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney, Paul Fishman, told CBS News. “We will not tolerate such an affront to human dignity.”
Rosenbaum, an Israeli citizen, admitted the sales took place between 2006 and 2009. He was ultimately caught in a sting involving the FBI and a woman who told Rosenbaum her uncle needed a kidney transplant. According to prosecutors, Rosenbaum told the woman he knew the organ sales were illegal, but he had been in the business a long time. They agreed on a price of $150,000, part of which he said was to pay individuals for their part in finding a donor.