After Sergio Pino committed suicide last month when the FBI raided his home, multiple conflicts arose within the Miami developer’s company, Century Homebuilders Group, and in court over the division of the wealthy businessman’s fortune.
Before his death, Pino was worth at least $150 million, though the total value of his estate is unclear. In recent weeks, his estranged wife, Tatiana Pino, and his brother, Carlos Pino, have feuded over who should represent the estate. Tatiana has since become president of Century, irritating some at the company. There is also a looming threat to the probate process: a hefty multimillion-dollar estate tax that the IRS is expected to levy in Pino’s death, as well as federal criminal charges against nine men accused of conspiring with him in an alleged murder plot targeting Tatiana.
Currently, numerous accounts Sergio Pino had with Seacoast Bank have been frozen, according to a complaint filed by the bank on August 20. The bank has sought a declaratory judgment on ownership of the accounts so the assets can be unfrozen.
Sergio Pino, 67, was the founder of Century Homebuilders Group, said to be the largest Hispanic-owned homebuilder in the U.S. died by suicide on July 16 when FBI agents attempted to raid his home and arrest him for his alleged role in a murder plot targeting his estranged wife. Tatiana Pino, 55, had filed for divorce in April 2022 after she believed Sergio poisoned her with fentanyl — fears the FBI later confirmed in its investigative reports.
In the years after Tatiana filed for divorce, she and her sister reported receiving a series of threats, including an armed assault, a hit-and-run, and multiple arsons. Now, weeks after federal investigators announced that those threats were part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by Sergio Pino, Tatiana’s sister Aurora Zivalich is suing his estate, seeking financial compensation for the emotional distress she says she endured.
Zivalich, who was the target of two separate arsons allegedly carried out by men hired by Sergio, is seeking $30 million in damages in connection with the attacks. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from the estate.
Tatiana and Sergio Pino have been battling in divorce court for more than two years over the division of their assets. Although the divorce case was dismissed last month following Sergio’s death, similar conflicts continue to rage in probate court over the division of Sergio’s assets and estate. In fact, the number of interested parties has expanded to include Sergio’s four children, his brother and his business partners, potentially complicating the already contentious proceedings.
Tatiana Pino is now seeking a declaratory judgment to establish that she has full ownership of Century Homebuilders Group based on an agreement between the couple.
Tatiana claims that she and her late husband owned Century Homebuilders Group together as tenants. That would mean that instead of each owning half of the company, they owned 100% of it as husband and wife. In a November deposition in the divorce case, even Sergio Pino said he believed he and Tatiana owned Century together as tenants, though he said he wasn’t entirely sure. If that turns out to be true, Sergio’s death would leave Tatiana with 100% ownership.
Tatiana is now listed online as the president of Century.
“The company is doing very well under Tatiana’s leadership,” her attorney, Raymond Rafool, told the Miami Herald, declining to comment further on the estate case.
Although Tatiana knew little about the intricacies of the company when Sergio was alive, she has learned more about its inner workings since filing for divorce, and has access to internal financial statements and other relevant information, according to the divorce lawsuit and statements from the couple.
Tatiana’s legal team also claims that the will Sergio signed in March, which named his brother Carlos as his representative, is invalid. Both parties also claim that the other has a conflict of interest in the matter.
Because of the dispute, a judge earlier this month ordered that a third-party trustee be appointed. Philip Shechter, an accountant, was appointed to the position on August 20. Shechter was recommended by Tatiana and her attorney for his financial expertise, although numerous other candidates were put forward for the position by her opponents in the estate case.
Tatiana’s involvement with Century since Sergio’s death has led to discord within the company in recent weeks. Some employees, as well as Carlos and his lawyer, have pushed for her to sign a settlement agreement and give up her title as president, Tatiana alleges in court documents.
The settlement agreement would have transferred ownership of the company to Pedro Hernandez, Century’s managing director and VP of construction and land development, according to the documents. Tatiana refused to sign the agreement.
Several high-ranking employees resigned from Century in the weeks following Sergio’s death, apparently in protest of Tatiana’s involvement, according to court documents. Hernandez resigned, but has since returned to the company. In a letter Sergio wrote to his employees before his suicide, he appeared to endorse Hernandez as his successor at Century. “Support Pedrito,” he urged his employees in the letter.
Sergio Mendez, Carlos Pino’s attorney, said he would not comment on the contents of the proposed settlement agreement other than to say that it had been presented to Tatiana and that she had refused to sign it. Mendez has made clear his disapproval of Tatiana’s leadership at Century. In an email from last month that is now part of the court file, he openly criticized her.
“Tatiana Pino’s presence in CHG’s offices negatively impacts the company’s operations,” Mendez wrote. “She negatively impacts the value of the company. She has never had anything to do with the company’s operations and is not qualified in any way.”
Carlos stated during his interrogation that he does not believe Tatiana is the full owner of Century, but only 50%.
Sergio’s will, which he signed shortly after four men were quietly arrested in March in connection with making threats against his wife, does not specify who would own the company in the event of his death. The will states that Sergio’s assets would be bequeathed according to the terms of his trusts. At the time, Sergio had numerous trusts, none of which listed Carlos or Tatiana as beneficiaries.
Tatiana’s legal team has claimed that when her late husband signed the will, he was not in his right mind, as evidenced by his alleged attempts to have her killed. They claim this could render the will completely invalid.
Also in question is a 1992 prenuptial agreement between Sergio and Tatiana. During divorce proceedings, the document was the subject of intense controversy. Tatiana claimed that the agreement, which limited the assets she would be entitled to, was invalid because she signed it under duress the day before the couple’s wedding.
But even if the will and prenup are accepted as valid documents, Tatiana’s legal team believes she is entitled to extensive marital assets, including the Century property. Tatiana has retained ownership of the Cocoplum home, where the couple lived during their marriage and where Sergio died last month.
Sergio’s $10 million yacht and $1.8 million home in Key Largo are also possible options.
Tatiana’s team further alleges that Carlos Pino may have assisted his brother in squandering marital assets during the couple’s lengthy divorce proceedings.
In a motion filed earlier this month, Tatiana’s legal team called attention to $3.2 million that was slowly transferred from Sergio to Carlos starting in 2019, the year the FBI says the poisoning attempts against Tatiana began. Mendez denied the allegation.
“That is completely untrue,” Mendez told the Herald. “They are trying to tarnish my client’s reputation to prevent him from fulfilling his rightful role as personal representative for his brother’s estate.”
While a trustee has already been appointed in the estate case, Mendez said it is still a possibility that his client could be appointed as personal representative in the future.
Tatiana’s legal team has also indicated that Carlos may have known about the murder plot. In documents filed earlier this month, Tatiana’s legal team stated that they are “not certain of [Carlos’] involvement in or knowledge of the criminal plot, but discovery in this case is still in its infancy.”
Carlos denied knowledge of the alleged assassination plot in a statement earlier this month.
