A northeast Iowa family — husband and wife and their son — were recently sentenced to federal prison time and probation for their scheme to receive millions in crop loans and then filed bankruptcy and gave false testimony.
U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams also ordered the mother, Aimee Lynn Rosenbaum, 53, of Lawler, and her son, Marshal Dillon Rosenbaum, 27, of Fredericksburg, to jointly pay $165,592 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency.
Aimee Rosenbaum also must pay $4,796 in restitution to a bank, a $5,000 fine and repay $7,086 in lawyer fees for her previous federal public defender, according to Williams’ sentencing order.
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According to the family members’ plea agreements and evidence during a three-day sentencing hearing for Aimee Rosenbaum, she and husband, Donald Eugene Rosenbaum, 58, of Cresco, farmed land that mostly produced corn and soybeans in Chickasaw County. In late 2014, Aimee directed her son Marshal to apply for a crop loan for the 2015 crop year on the pretense that her son would be taking over the farm due to alleged health problems of Aimee and Donald Rosenbaum.
After Marshal Rosenbaum obtained over $165,000 in loan money and pledged the farm’s 2015 crop to the USDA, his mother then obtained over $1.3 million in loans from a bank, claiming she and her husband would continue to farm the land that year, according to the plea.
The 2015 crop was “double-pledged” without the knowledge of the USDA or the bank. Aimee Rosenbaum applied for the bank loans on behalf of her husband, using the power of attorney she obtained from him.
The Rosenbaums eventually defaulted on both loans and sold the double-pledged crop with “little to no” repayment, according court documents. After the bank started foreclosure proceedings on the Rosenbaums’ farm, Aimee and Donald filed five bankruptcy petitions. They each filed two additional bankruptcy petitions in bad faith and on the eve of a scheduled sheriff’s sale in state court in order to interfere and delay the bank’s attempts to obtain loan repayments.
During one phone hearing in the bankruptcy case in 2019, Aimee Rosenbaum pretended to be her husband. Williams, during sentencing, found Aimee submitted false evidence and testimony during that bankruptcy hearing.
Aimee Rosenbaum previously pleaded to one count each of conversion of property pledged to a farm credit agency and bankruptcy fraud. She was sentenced last week to over six years in prison. She also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term.
Donald Rosenbaum previously pleaded to bankruptcy fraud. He was sentenced to two years’ probation Monday. He also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
Marshal Rosenbaum previously pleaded to conversion of property pledged to a farm credit agency. He was sentenced last week to three months in prison and three months of home confinement. He also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Vavricek and investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Northeast Iowa family sentenced for crop loan scheme
A northeast Iowa family sentenced to prison time and ordered to pay thousands in restitution for crop loan scheme where they double pledged crop proceeds for repayment. They never repaid the laons and one member made false statements during a bankruptcy hearing.
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