WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami Beach lawyer accused of cyberstalking and terrorizing his ex-girlfriend for months appeared before a judge, Wednesday morning.
Grant Sarbinoff, 37, an attorney with legal offices in Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale, stood in handcuffs before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer. He is facing a slew of criminal charges, including stalking, identity theft and illegal computer access.
“This defendant has been terrorizing this victim in the most modern of ways, cyberstalking her,” said Matthew Karp, the ex-girlfriend’s attorney.
Prosecutors said this is not the first time the suspect has faced these accusations. “Beyond that, this is not his first issue with stalking behavior as it regards to ex-girlfriends,” said one prosecutor during the bond hearing. “This is the third time that he’s done this type of behavior.”
According to arrest documents, Sarbinoff met the victim, also a lawyer, on the dating website Tinder, back in November of 2015.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Sarbinoff had ended the nearly yearlong relationship last September. “For over seven months, this attorney harassed his ex-girlfriend through phones, through the computer services,” said Fernandez Rundle.
Officials said Sarbinoff hacked into a long list of his ex’s online accounts, changing passwords, making reservations and even tampering with her electric utility service. “He would go and have her electricity stopped,” said Fernandez Rundle.
The state attorney said he did a lot of damage, hacking into a long list of the victim’s online accounts.
Court documents reveal Sarbinoff sent an endless amount of emails to his ex. According to investigators, one read, “It’s interesting how you selectively forward things to [redacted] or your other work friends.”
The victim claims she had blocked Sarbinoff’s number, but investigators said, the 37-year-old contacted her repeatedly through an online program known as “spoof card,” which would display friends’ phone numbers on her caller ID.
The victim also said she believes Sarbinoff followed her on one occasion. She went to the Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami to see a movie with a colleague. Records from Uber show Sarbinoff was also picked up from Miami Beach and dropped off right around the shopping center.
Documents reveal, “After arriving home, she went to take her dog for a walk and saw who appeared to be the subject at the end of her block. Uber records show that the subject was picked up a couple of blocks from there at 10:23 p.m.”
Sarbinoff is accused of attaching a GPS on his ex’s car without her consent. According to investigators, the GPS was the same model tracker Sarbinoff had purchased on Amazon and was making payments on.
“This case really represents sort of the modern 21st century version of domestic abuse,” said Fernandez Rundle.
Sarbinoff’s bond is set at $262,000. He will also be placed on house arrest and was issued a stay away order from the victim.
“So we can track him if he’s going near this victim,” said Glazer, “and, by the way, if you try to tamper with the monitor, that’s another criminal charge.”
Glazer also ruled that Sarbinoff must prove that the money posted for the bond comes from a legitimate source.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.