Tatiana Pino Claims Control Of Development Firm Of Late Husband Who Allegedly Plotted Her Murder

Developer Sergio Pino, who died earlier this week during a raid of his home, was under investigation for allegedly trying to have his wife killed at least twice. Now, her lawyer says she’s the sole owner of his real estate empire.

Tatiana Pino and her late husband appear in documents as the two sole managers and owners of Century Homebuilders Group, and since Sergio Pino was found dead Tuesday after an FBI raid, Tatiana Pino is now the sole owner, her lawyer said. 

“Century Homebuilders Group is moving forward as it has been and it will continue to move forward with Tatiana and her daughters and the current people that have been supporting her and standing behind her,” attorney Raymond Rafool of Rafool LLC told The Real Deal. 

Rafool’s office didn’t respond to Bisnow’s requests for comment.

The outcome might not be as cut-and-dried as Rafool presents. Sergio Pino's brother, Carlos Pino, submitted a will claiming he should be named executor of the estate, TRD reported.

The twist of fate followed a press conference Thursday where FBI officials alleged Sergio Pino had hired a second team of would-be assassins to target his wife, who had filed for divorce. 

Tatiana Pino hadn't previously been part of the day-to-day operations of Century Homebuilders, which has built more than 16,000 houses across South Florida. But she was listed as the company’s co-owner on many of the LLCs used by the firm and the co-guarantor of many of its mortgages, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

“Sergio Pino even claimed the entity was owned 100% by both parties as tenants by entireties in the divorce action,” Rafool told the SFBJ. “If so, all ownership passes to Tatiana immediately by operation of law upon Sergio Pino’s death.”  

Century Homebuilders didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment, but Pedro Hernandez, the firm’s chief operating officer, issued a statement to the SFBJ saying operations would continue at all of the firm’s active sites. 

“We thank you all for your support and assure you that Century Homebuilders Group is here to stay,” he said.

The statement made no mention of Tatiana Pino.

The firm recently acquired a Homestead development site where it plans 50 homes, is building 45 townhouses in Florida City, is a partner on a 12-acre project south of Miami and is co-developing Century Town Center in Doral. 

Sergio Pino, who founded the company in 1996, was being investigated for allegations that he had recruited Bayron Bennett, a food and beverage service worker on Pino’s yacht, to hire a team to murder Tatiano Pino after she filed for divorce in April 2022. 

Nine people across two murder-for-hire teams have been arrested as part of the investigation, the Miami Herald reported.

Tatiana Pino also alleged during divorce proceedings that her husband had tried to poison her by lacing her food with fentanyl and her medication with bath salts. She was sick for months, with her health improving after she left the marital home. 

A Johns Hopkins epidemiologist eventually found the fentanyl in her system, and tests revealed the bath salts in her medication, she alleged in court proceedings. Sergio Pino denied the poisoning accusations in a deposition as part of the divorce. 

The FBI said in a statement that agents found Pino dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound as a police raid of his home unfolded. Law enforcement had been in contact with Pino during the raid, and TRD reported that officers were trying to convince him not to harm himself.  

Police entered Pino’s home with their weapons pointed to the ground, a neighbor told the Herald.

Sam Rabin, the attorney representing Pino, excoriated police for what he described as an unnecessary show of force that led to his client’s death. He maintains that all of the allegations against Pino would have been disproven in court. 

“Sadly, I no longer have a living client to allow me to respond to the government’s new allegations,” Rabin, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, told the Herald. “That is because prosecutors ignored my emails and phone conversations where I volunteered to surrender Mr. Pino if they wanted to arrest him.”