New York Charges Agent, Wife With Life Insurance Fraud

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 9 -- New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued the following news release:

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the arraignment today of Lawrence D. Rosenbaum, 65, and his wife, Thomasine Henderson, 65, both of Albany, New York, on a ten-count indictment charging them with stealing over $12,000 in life insurance payments and attempting to wrongfully obtain nearly $50,000 in life insurance payments by submitting false claims with respect to the death of their son. If convicted, each defendant faces up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.

"To exploit the death of one's child to commit insurance fraud is truly reprehensible," Attorney General Schneiderman said. "My office will continue fighting to root out insurance fraud and fully prosecute those responsible for it."

According to court documents and statements made by prosecutors in court today, Rosenbaum is an insurance broker who owned and operated Rosenbaum Financial Services in Albany for decades. His wife, Thomasine Henderson, has been a long-time employee of the business. Their son, Andrew Rosenbaum, died after he intentionally stepped in front of a truck on I-87 in Colonie on May 8, 2016.

According to prosecutors, just two days after Andrew's death, Lawrence Rosenbaum allegedly called Transamerica Insurance Corporation, where he had learned Andrew had insurance policies, and impersonated his deceased son to inquire whether being "hit by a truck" would be covered if it were deemed to be an accident. Upon learning that Andrew Rosenbaum had insurance policies with Transamerica that would pay as much as $85,000 under such circumstances, Rosenbaum and his wife allegedly acted together to submit false claims aimed at concealing the fact that their son's death was a suicide.

As a result of their fraud, the Attorney General's Office alleges that the couple wrongfully obtained a partial payment on their son's life insurance policy in the amount of approximately $12,500. In addition, they are charged with attempting to wrongfully obtain additional payments totaling nearly $50,000, which were stopped by Transamerica when it uncovered potential falsities in their claims.

In the midst of the couple's alleged insurance fraud scam, Rosenbaum was arrested by the Attorney General's Office on charges that he allegedly stole nearly $1 million from investors related to companies he had created to purportedly manufacture kosher and halal cheese and bio fuels. In June 2016, Rosenbaum was arraigned on a 27-count indictment charging him with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a class C felony), Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony), Securities Fraud under the Martin Act (a class E felony), Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree (a class E felony), Repeated Failure to File Personal Income Tax Returns under the New York Tax Law (a class E felony), and Criminal Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree (a class E felony). Those charges are currently pending in Albany County Court.

The Attorney General's current indictment charges Rosenbaum and Henderson with one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony), one count of Attempted Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class E felony), two counts of Insurance Fraud in the Third Degree (a class D felony), and two counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (a class E felony). Rosenbaum is charged with two additional counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and one count of Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree (a class A misdemeanor), and Henderson is charged with one additional count of Falsifying Business Record in the First Degree.

Rosenbaum and Henderson were arraigned today in Albany County Court before the Honorable Judge Roger McDonough. Rosenbaum is currently being held on $40,000 cash over $40,000 bond over and Henderson is currently remanded without bail. The charges against the defendants are merely allegations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The criminal case against Rosenbaum and Henderson is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Benjamin S. Clark and Philip V. Apruzzese of the Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau. The Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Gary T. Fishman and Deputy Bureau Chief Stephanie Swenton.

The Attorney General's investigation was conducted by Investigator Dennis Churns and Deputy Chief Antoine Karam. The Investigations Bureau is led by Chief Dominick Zarrella.

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