Nearly a year after the suicide of Cuban-American real estate magnate Sergio Pino, two people accused of participating in an alleged plot orchestrated by the millionaire to murder his wife pleaded guilty in federal court.
The case, which has shocked the Miami community with its legal, personal, and financial consequences, centers on an alleged conspiracy led by Pino to threaten, stalk, and potentially kill his wife, Tatiana Pino, amid a divorce proceeding involving assets worth more than $165 million.
On Wednesday, Telemundo 51 revealed that Avery Bivins, 37, and Michael Dulfo, 43, confessed to being involved in the plan to intimidate Tatiana Pino.
The sentencing hearing for Bivins and Dulfo was scheduled for July 8.
A significant aspect of the case against the individuals involved was a monitored video conversation Bivins conducted with his co-defendant Fausto Villar, who had previously shared a prison cell with him.
In the audio played during the trial, Villar recounts how his benefactor, whom the FBI identified as Sergio Pino, became angry when he discovered that several accomplices had been arrested.
The conversation proved crucial: a few hours later, the FBI launched a plan to arrest Villar and Pino. Villar was arrested, but Sergio decided to take his own life when he saw the agents at his home.
The controversial legal battle involving Sergio Pino and his wife Tatiana escalated dramatically when one of the defendants revealed he had rejected a $20 million settlement during divorce proceedings.
Legal documents suggest the total value, which includes real estate and various trusts, could exceed $165 million.
Several of these assets were altered or restructured by Sergio during the final months—or even weeks—of his life, leading to a heated legal dispute surrounding Tatiana's inheritance claims.
Concurrent with the civil lawsuit, the FBI was conducting a criminal investigation that resulted in multiple arrests. Unfortunately, this investigation ended in tragedy when Sergio Pino took his own life with a gunshot wound to the head while federal agents arrived at his home to execute a search warrant.
According to federal charges, Sergio Pino is accused of forming two criminal organizations designed to threaten or possibly kill his wife.
One of the operations was led by Fausto Villar, an ex-convict with a record for armed robbery, who worked as a roofer at the family home. Authorities reported that Villar informed Bivins that Sergio was willing to offer up to $300,000 for Tatiana's murder.
The FBI reports that the other group was coordinated by Bayron Bennett, who works for the Pino family yacht, and allegedly attempted to use toxins, such as opiates like fentanyl, to commit the crime.
Michael Dulfo is reportedly associated with this group and faces charges related to several intimidation tactics: he allegedly set fire to cars belonging to Tatiana's sister and crashed her vehicle as she returned from a divorce hearing in Pinecrest in August 2023.
In June 2024, a deeply disturbing event occurred when Tatiana found herself confronted by a man with a gun right outside her home.
Although the attacker did not fire his weapon, he intimidated one of the daughters by pointing a gun at her before fleeing.
Vernon Green, another of the defendants, is identified as the alleged perpetrator of this failed murder attempt. Green has a criminal record related to attempted murder and armed robbery.
A total of nine people are implicated in this case, several of whom face charges related to conspiracy to commit murder for hire, a crime that could potentially result in a life sentence under federal law in the United States.
