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NY Socialite Libbie Mugrabi Ordered by Judge to Fork Over $1.8M in Unpaid Rent on Luxury Apt
Edited by: TJVNews.com
New York City’s socialite scene has several members who regularly dominate the headlines and one of them is Libbie Mugrabi. The 43-year-old ex-wife of a wealthy art dealer was recently ordered by a Manhattan judge to pay over $1.8 million for unpaid rent on a luxury Yorkville condominium that she once lived in, according to a recent report in the New York Post.
The report indicated that Mugrabi is compelled to pay the judgment against her to the owner of the upper east side condo that is located on East 82nd Street. The monthly rent on the upscale apartment is $28,800. The Post reported that Mugrabi lived in the apartment during the Covid pandemic and it is alleged that she did not pay rent and utilities during the duration of her time spent there, according to two lawsuits that have been filed against her.
According to court documents that were made public on Wednesday, the Post reported that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Debra James granted landlord 320 East 82nd Owner, LLC’s request for a $1,815,238 judgment against Mugrabi which includes 9% interest and taxes.
An attorney representing the landlord of the condo, Todd Rose had claimed in a hearing that took place in February that Mugrabi finally moved out of the apartment in November and that was the day before her eviction was scheduled for, the Post reported.
Speaking to the Post on Wednesday, Mugrabi claimed that she didn’t know about the judgment and that she moved out of the apartment three years ago after relocating to the Hamptons. She told the Post that the judgment “seems insane.”
The Post reported that Rose also claimed during the February hearing that “Mugrabi didn’t pay rent for so long that my client almost foreclosed on his mortgage, almost losing his building.” He argued that despite the fact that Mugrabi won millions in a divorce settlement from art scion David Mugrabi, she filed a hardship application during the pandemic. At the time, Rose said, “This is a fraud upon the system.”
Mugrabi told the Post on Wednesday that the reason she applied for hardship relief is because her ex-husband had ceased paying her expenses. The socialite also claimed to the Post that she left the keys with the doorman when she relocated to the Hamptons and “assumed” the landlord knew she had vacated the apartment. “My mistake was never letting the landlord know that I moved out,” Mugrabi told The Post.
In November 2022, the Post reported that Mugrabi had been arrested for allegedly attacking her former housekeeper in the Hamptons, police said.
The report indicated that in the summer of 2022, Mugrabi was accused of breaking her ex-employee’s cellphone and threatening her with a knife and mop handle.
Police said that the arrest took place on July 31st, while Mugrabi was at her home in the tony Sag Harbor area in the Hamptons. The Hamptons is an area that is known for being the summer playground for the rich and famous as affluent New York City business titans and a bevy of celebrities call the eastern end of Long Island home each summer. Ostentatious mansions are a ubiquitous sight.
Southampton Town Police said in a statement that the altercation erupted after Mugrabi’s housekeeper complained about money she was owed, the Post reported. The fight ended when Mugrabi “forcefully and unlawfully” evicted the employee.
Sources told the Post at the time that Mugrabi, who has earned a reputation as a glittering socialite, was released without bail following her arraignment in Southampton Town Justice Court.
The Post also reported that Mugrabi’s lawyer called her a “pillar of our community” in the upscale Hamptons and insisted that her client was innocent of all charges.
Marianne Bertuna, of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins, said in a statement, “Libbie Mugrabi is a pillar of our community and a law abiding citizen. The evidence will show that she is innocent of all these charges. We look forward to this matter being swiftly dismissed in its entirety,” the Post reported.
Associates and friends of Mugrabi claimed that the art collector’s ex-wife has denied the charges leveled against her. The Post reported that one of Mugrabi’s friends claimed, “Libbie is innocent of the claims she is accused of.”
A resident of the Jersey Shore, Libbie Mugrabi was raised in the Syrian Jewish enclave of Deal, New Jersey. The Post reported that her father was a plastic surgeon and that her mother was a nurse. After culinary school she met David, the son of a businessman known for his extensive art collection, the paper reported.
