FBI affidavits detail alleged threats against real estate developer's wife

Documents filed in Miami federal court earlier this year shed new light on this week's FBI raid on the home and office of prominent developer Sergio Pino, as part of an investigation into whether Pino made threats against his wife's life during unpleasant divorce proceedings.

The FBI is investigating whether Pino was behind the recruitment of a team of men who allegedly threatened his wife after she filed for divorce in April 2022, according to people familiar with the matter. Four men were arrested in connection with the alleged threats.

Bayron Bennett, a Pino domestic worker, and three other Miami-Dade men, Michael Dulfo, Edner Etienne and Jerren Howard, were charged in March with stalking Pino’s wife Tatiana in 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 hit-and-run at the heart of the investigation into Sergio Pino's alleged threats against his wife

Two FBI affidavits supporting the criminal complaints detail the incidents. In August 2023, according to court documents, Tatiana Pino's BMW was struck by a rented flatbed truck. The documents also detail two alleged arson attacks last July and August.

The four accused will be tried at the end of August. Although court documents do not identify Sergio or Tatiana Pino by name, Bennett is described as a “hired helper” who arranged food and beverage services for the home builder during excursions on his yacht.

Sergio Pino's defense attorney, Sam Rabin, said they were aware of the charges against the four men and the ongoing investigation by the FBI, which raided the builder's home and business on the brink water in Coral Gables Monday evening.

Tatiana Pino filed for divorce in April 2022. In a deposition in the proceedings in September of that year, she said she believed Sergio Pino had “poisoned” her, claiming she had been hospitalized multiple times and that doctors had found fentanyl in her system.

Read the criminal complaints here: