Daniel Lugo was the manager of Sun Gym in North Miami during the early 1990s. Before the murders, he had already been convicted of fraud in 1991 for impersonating a Hong Kong banker and scamming small businesses. He served a 15-month federal sentence and was placed on probation. Lugo was known for his manipulative personality and ability to convince others to follow him, even into criminal activity. After being released, he resumed work at the gym and began forming what would become known as the “Sun Gym Gang,” made up mostly of fellow bodybuilders and shady acquaintances. Lugo crafted a plan to live a luxurious lifestyle by targeting wealthy individuals for kidnapping and extortion.

In 1994, Lugo orchestrated the kidnapping and extortion of businessman Marc Schiller. With the help of accomplices Noel "Adrian" Doorbal, Jorge Delgado, and others, they abducted Schiller, tortured him, and forced him to sign over his assets, including his house, cars, and money. After weeks of imprisonment, they attempted to kill him in a staged DUI crash, followed by setting him on fire and running him over, but Schiller survived. He escaped to New York and eventually returned to Miami to work with a private investigator.

Later, in May 1995, Lugo and his gang targeted wealthy phone-sex millionaire Frank Griga and his girlfriend Krisztina Furton. After arranging a business meeting under false pretenses, Doorbal killed Griga during a dispute. Furton was then drugged with horse tranquilizer by Lugo and later died from an overdose. Failing to extort any information from the couple, the gang dismembered and disposed of the bodies at a warehouse.

The gang’s downfall began when Schiller’s case was re-investigated alongside the disappearance of Griga and Furton. Lugo fled to the Bahamas but was arrested and extradited. On October 2, 1996, Lugo was convicted on 46 charges including racketeering, kidnapping, and first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death and remains on Florida’s death row. The story of the Sun Gym Gang later inspired the 2013 film Pain & Gain.