A real estate attorney in New York City has filed a lawsuit against celebrity broker Ryan Serhant, claiming she was not paid her full referral commission on a Fisher Island property sale involving billionaire Yuri Shefler.
Natalia Sishodia, who leads her own law firm in New York, is seeking $455,000 and a jury trial, according to court documents. The complaint states that Sishodia entered into a referral agreement with Serhant in April 2024 for the sale of a home on Fisher Island. Sishodia alleges she was owed 25 percent of the $840,000 gross commission—$210,000—but received only $105,000 after Serhant cited an amended agreement.
The lawsuit, filed in July in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in New York County, lists Serhant and seven affiliated companies as defendants. The sum Sishodia seeks includes the additional $105,000 she claims is still owed and $350,000 in damages.
Attorneys representing Sishodia did not comment on the case. In an email statement, Andrew Lieb, attorney for Serhant, said: “will let the papers speak for themselves.”
The dispute centers on Shefler’s December sale of his home at 6915 Valencia Drive on Fisher Island in Miami Beach for $21 million. The buyer was Guilherme Federico. Mariana Niro from Serhant’s firm represented both parties in this transaction for one of the few single-family homes located on Fisher Island.
Shefler’s connection to this property had not been previously reported but was disclosed through legal filings. Forbes reports that Shefler holds a net worth of $1.1 billion and leads SPI Group and its Luxembourg-based subsidiary Stoli Group.
In 2015, Shefler sold his superyacht “Serene” to Prince Mohammed bin Salman for $550 million as reported by The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/world/middleeast/russian-billionaire-sells-yacht-to-saudi-prince.html). In 2022 he purchased Angelina Jolie’s share of Château Miraval vineyard for $28.4 million; this led to Brad Pitt suing Jolie over the deal (https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60283463).
Serhant expanded into South Florida only last year. His business efforts have included legal disputes; Palm Beach Gardens-based brokerage Sutter & Nugent sued his company alleging theft of trade secrets—a case dismissed earlier this year (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/04/11/sutter-nugents-lawsuit-against-serhant-florida-dismissed). Since then he has hired Gary Pohrer and opened an office on Palm Beach island while arranging an oceanfront land deal tied to Charles Simonyi valued at more than $350 million (https://therealdeal.com/miami/palm-beach/2024/03/20/exclusive-serhants-palm-beach-office-to-open-next-month-with-gary-pohrer-at-the-helm).
An earlier version of this story misidentified the buyer involved in the transaction.
