Sergio Pino’s widow, Tatiana Pino, and their daughters have filed a lawsuit against Nancy Pastor, Pino’s longtime girlfriend, and several others over alleged fraudulent transfers related to the Century Midtown development in Doral. The suit was submitted last week in Miami-Dade Circuit Court and also names Century Midtown Club and Fitness Center LLC, attorney Eugenio Duarte, and Joseline Pereira, former CFO of Century Homebuilders.
Sergio Pino was a prominent homebuilder in South Florida who founded Coral Gables-based Century Homebuilders Group. He died by suicide in July 2024 as FBI agents prepared to raid his home amid allegations that he had attempted to kill his wife through poisoning and by hiring hitmen. At the time of his death, Sergio and Tatiana were undergoing a contentious divorce.
The legal dispute centers on documents created or amended by Duarte concerning Century Midtown—a mixed-use project with condos, apartments, and a clubhouse. According to the complaint: “In July 2024 as Sergio Pino’s multi-year efforts to kill Tatiana, his joint partner/owner by the entireties of CHG, failed, and with the FBI and the police closing in, certain documents related to the collateralized clubhouse were purportedly executed by Sergio without the consent of the bank, his project partners, Tatiana, or those he sought to transfer control to all of his interests in Century Fitness and the Clubhouse, among other things.”
The contested documents include a 99-year lease agreement for the clubhouse and two trusts. The plaintiffs allege these are invalid and were intended to benefit Pastor. The lawsuit claims: “These efforts were criminal, fraudulent, intentional and otherwise wrongful.”
Nancy Pastor’s attorney Michael Schlesinger provided a statement to The Real Deal denying any wrongdoing on Pastor’s part: “Pastor did not receive any copies of the trusts until after Pino’s death.” He added: “Pastor’s successful efforts in the sales and management of Sergio Pino projects led to Mr. Pino and his companies profiting by millions” while noting her management roles stemmed from her experience.
Schlesinger continued: “To set the record straight, for over the past decade that Ms. Pastor was affiliated with Mr. Pino’s businesses and ventures she never witnessed Ms. [Tatiana] Pino involved in any business transaction until she took over after his untimely death,” adding that “Ms. Pastor has never done anything illegal and has always been ethical and transparent in all Estate matters.”
One trust is dated March 11 but allegedly created March 13—the same period when federal authorities learned about Sergio’s alleged plot against Tatiana—while another is dated July 15, just one day before Sergio’s death.
Pereira reportedly instructed Duarte to prepare documentation for transferring rights related to Century Midtown’s clubhouse via a long-term lease. In an email included with court filings Duarte expressed reservations about these actions: “Each transfer, assignment, appointment etc., can potentially alter the relationship with third parties (or even require the consent of third parties) and we have to be careful not to make any decisions in haste without considering all possible consequences with Century’s relationship with others…I am concerned that some of these changes are not needed—and they may bring detrimental consequences.”
The lawsuit further states that ownership issues regarding property at 2038, 8075 and 8175 Northwest 107th Avenue are complicating refinancing or sale attempts for Century Town Center. CBRE was engaged as broker but has so far been unable to secure refinancing due partly to lenders’ concerns about current guarantors; this could necessitate either selling or recapitalizing with new partners.
