Two removed from racketeering lawsuit

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Two people have been dismissed as defendants in a federal racketeering law- suit against a Palm Beach Gardens man.

The 21-count suit filed on behalf of Ilia Mogilevsky’s mother-in-law, Tamara Filippova of eastern Sibe- ria, claims Mogilevsky — in collusion with local business partners, lawyers, notaries public and others also named as defendants — defrauded Filippova out of more than $8 million by forging documents to move dozens of Florida properties to his name from hers. It cites the federal Civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

The suit, filed Jan. 16, had listed among the defendants Kristin Demeritt and Stephanie Reeves, whom it said took part with others in notarizing fake documents.

The two dismissal motions, filed Feb. 13 but not posted on the federal docket until this week, do not say why lawyers are removing the two.

Mogilevsky, 40, and his wife Natalia, 39, who are immigrants from Russia, filed for divorce Nov. 2. On Nov. 11, she was arrested, charged with biting her husband’s wrist in front of the couple’s children, ages 12 and 3, at their BallenIsles Country Club home. The domestic-battery charges are pending, as is the divorce.

Rosen has said he intends to forward all his findings about alleged misdoings by Ilia Mogilevsky to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for possible criminal investigations. And while Filippova’s suit lists Natalia Mogilevsky as a defendant, and alleges she helped her husband mislead her mother, Rosen has said she “was duped by Ilia.”

Stuart Kaplan, who represents Natalia Mogilevsky in her domestic-battery case, has said she plans to countersue her husband in federal court.