FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Sheepshead Bay Woman Indicted for Allegedly Forging Court Order
Absolving Her of Her Debts
Defendant Created Court Document with Judge’s Signature;
Sent it to Crediting Agencies in Attempt to Wipe out Debts Totaling Approximately $77,000
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Sheepshead Bay woman has been indicted for forgery and related charges for allegedly creating a fraudulent court order containing the signature of a Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice, which absolved her of all debts accrued during her marriage, including those from her divorce proceeding.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly perpetrated a blatant fraud to get out of paying her debts. Perhaps even worse, in doing so, she exploited the trust in our courts and violated the integrity of the judicial system. We intend to hold her fully accountable for her shameful acts.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Natalya Rosenstock, 35, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The defendant was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on three counts of second-degree forgery, three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and three counts of second-degree falsifying business records. The defendant was ordered held on $50,000 bond or $15,000 cash bail and to return to court on October 4, 2017. She faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the defendant, while a litigant in a divorce proceeding before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Rachel A. Adams, allegedly created a document purportedly signed by Justice Adams, ordering the absolution of all of the defendant’s debts accrued during her marriage and resulting from her divorce. These debts totaled approximately $77,000. The forged court order further required crediting agencies to clear the defendant’s record of any negative reporting between September 5, 2009 and the date of the order, June 15, 2016. In February 2017, the defendant then allegedly faxed the order to three credit reporting agencies. According to the investigation, the validity of the forged document was convincing enough that one of the crediting agencies did, in fact, delete many of the defendant’s debts from its records.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the defendant’s alleged fraud was discovered when one of the crediting agencies that received the bogus court order contacted one of the defendant’s lenders. The lender then contacted Brooklyn Supreme Court, inquiring about the validity of the document.
The Acting District Attorney thanked New York State Office of Court Administration Inspector General Sherrill Spatz and Investigator Joseph Kuceluk for their assistance in the investigation.
The case was investigated by Supervising Detective Investigator Michael Seminara and Detective Investigator Jacqueline Klapak, both of the District Attorney’s Investigations Bureau.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Renee Welker Hassel, of the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michael Spanakos, Unit Chief, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division.
#
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.