Documents filed in federal court in Miami earlier this year shed new light on the FBI raid this week on the home and office of prominent real estate developer Sergio Pino. This raid is part of an investigation into whether Pino made threats against his wife during nasty divorce proceedings.
The FBI is investigating whether Pino was behind the recruitment of a group of men who allegedly threatened his wife in the aftermath of her April 2022 divorce filing, according to people familiar with the matter. Four men have been arrested in connection with the alleged threats.
Bayron Bennett, a domestic worker for Pino, and three other Miami-Dade men, Michael Dulfo, Edner Etienne and Jerren Howard, were charged in March with stalking Pino’s wife Tatiana in connection with a hit-and-run at her home. Bennett, Dulfo and Howard were also charged with racketeering and arson for allegedly targeting three vehicles belonging to Tatiana Pino’s sister.
Read more: Arson and collision at the center of investigation into Sergio Pino’s alleged threats towards his wife
A pair of FBI affidavits supporting the criminal charges detail the incidents. In August 2023, court documents say, Tatiana Pino’s BMW was struck by a rented semi-trailer truck. The documents also detail two alleged arsons in July and August of last year.
The four suspects will go to trial at the end of August. Although the court documents do not mention Sergio and Tatiana Pino by name, Bennett is described as a “hired help” who arranged food and drinks for the homebuilder for excursions on his yacht.
Sergio Pino’s attorney, Sam Rabin, said they are aware of the prosecutions of the four men and the ongoing investigation by the FBI, which raided the builder’s waterfront home and business in Coral Gables on Monday night.
Tatiana Pino filed for divorce in April 2022. In a deposition as part of the proceedings in September of that year, she testified that she believed Sergio Pino had “poisoned” her, saying she had been hospitalized multiple times and that doctors had found fentanyl in her system.
Read the criminal complaints here:
