A New York City real estate attorney has filed a lawsuit against broker Ryan Serhant, claiming she was not paid her full referral commission in a Fisher Island home sale involving Stoli Vodka billionaire Yuri Shefler.
Natalia Sishodia, who leads her own law firm in New York, is seeking $455,000 and a jury trial. Court documents state that Sishodia and Serhant entered into a referral agreement in April 2024. According to the complaint, Sishodia expected to receive 25 percent of the $840,000 gross commission from the deal—amounting to $210,000—but alleges she only received $105,000 after an amended agreement was cited by Serhant. The lawsuit names Serhant and seven of his companies as defendants.
The amount Sishodia is seeking includes an additional $105,000 she claims remains unpaid and $350,000 in damages.
Attorneys for Sishodia declined to comment on the case. In response, Andrew Lieb, attorney for Serhant, said via email that the broker is moving to dismiss the case and “will let the papers speak for themselves.”
The legal dispute centers on Shefler’s sale of a mansion at 6915 Valencia Drive on Fisher Island in Miami Beach for $21 million last December. Guilherme Federico purchased the property. Mariana Niro of Serhant represented both sides in the transaction for the 9,400-square-foot home—one of few single-family residences on Fisher Island.
Shefler’s ownership of the property became public through court filings related to this lawsuit. Forbes lists Shefler’s net worth at approximately $1.1 billion; he leads SPI Group and its Luxembourg-based subsidiary Stoli Group.
Shefler previously sold his superyacht “Serene” for $550 million to Prince Mohammed bin Salman and bought Angelina Jolie’s stake in Château Miraval vineyard for $28.4 million—a move that led Brad Pitt to file a separate suit against Jolie over their business interests.
The Fisher Island sale marked a notable achievement for Serhant following his firm’s expansion into South Florida in 2023. His operations have faced legal challenges before: Palm Beach Gardens-based Sutter & Nugent sued Serhant Florida alleging misappropriation of trade secrets—a case dismissed earlier this year.
Since expanding into Florida, Serhant has hired top Palm Beach agent Gary Pohrer and opened an office on Fisher Island. He is also managing a major oceanfront assemblage purchase in Palm Beach reportedly valued at over $350 million and associated with Microsoft billionaire Charles Simonyi.
A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the buyer of the home.
