Robin Severance-Lopez, the estranged wife of Marcos Lopez, the former Sheriff at the heart of a casino gambling scheme case, has accepted a plea deal.
This news comes alongside a former associate of Lopez, Krishna Kumar Deokaran, who changed their plea to guilty after charges against them were reduced.
Lopez’s corruption case continues
As we reported, the case into the alleged corruption and gambling ring centred around the office of Lopez, and a rumoured $21.6 million in embezzled funds, has continued to gain momentum.
Severance-Lopez was arrested in the summer of 2025 on a felony charge of conspiracy to use investment proceeds from racketeering.
Robin Severance-Lopez, the estranged wife of the now suspended sheriff of Osceola County, Marcos Lopez, was arrested by @HSITampa on state charges for conspiracy to commit racketeering. Lopez, the now suspended sheriff, was arrested June 5 following an investigation into a… pic.twitter.com/N6525QwBAs
— HSI Tampa (@HSITampa) June 23, 2025
A $400,000 bond was set for Lopez, as state prosecutors had designated her as a key financial facilitator in the case.
Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Colleen Monroe alleged: “She helped to facilitate the movement of illicit money and receipt of illicit payments from other co-conspirators to Lopez, which is believed to have reached at least $600,000 to $700,000.”
Now, Severance-Lopez has accepted a plea deal with the authorities, agreeing to 24 months of probation.
Which means that her custodial sentence will be off the table, but she has acknowledged, says Fox45 Orlando, that she gave false and misleading information on her bail application and to a money laundering charge.
Deokaran changes plea to guilty
Local police held Deokaran for his connection to Marcos Lopez in October 2025, and he was charged with money laundering. He has now pleaded to a lesser part in the money laundering, and his sentence has been deferred.
Alleged gambling ringleader for Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez faces money laundering charge https://t.co/TJyBricoHU
— WFTV Channel 9 (@WFTV) October 28, 2025
Deokaran was seen as a facilitator and was described as part of the two-hundred and fifty page affidavit as the person “who stood at the helm” of the gambling operation allegedly under the protection of former Sheriff Lopez.
In the document, it was recorded that Deokaran paid Lopez protection money in the region of $600,000 and $700,000 since 2020. He also boasted to federal agents of his ability to process millions of dollars per week from illegal casino locations.
Guilty pleas stack up in Lopez case
We reported that Lopez’s actions were found to span multiple jurisdictions and across five separate venues running illegal betting and casino activities. Prosecutors labelled his actions as “an organized criminal conspiracy affecting two or more judicial circuits of the State of Florida.”
Since Lopez’s arrest, several individuals tied to his office have entered guilty pleas. These include Ying “Kate” Zhang, Sharon Fedrick, Sheldon Wetherholt, and Carol Cote, as well as Severance-Lopez and Deokaran.
Featured image: Fox 35 Orlando screenshot via YouTube
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