Robin Severance-Lopez, the former wife of suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez who state prosecutors say had a hand in an eight-figure illegal gambling ring he was a piece of, pleaded guilty to two charges of money laundering and left the Lake County Jail Monday.
At a plea hearing earlier in the day, she and her attorney reversed course after rejecting a prior plea deal on the charges. Severance-Lopez, 50, was scheduled to go to trial Dec. 8.
As part of her sentence, she will serve 24 months of probation in Osceola County (after the court recommended transferring her case back here), and must, “Testify truthfully at any Hearing, Deposition or Trial, without the necessity of a Subpoena, as it relates to her conduct in this matter.”
She is also responsible for over $5,356 in court costs, and is allowed to travel to Brevard and Palm Beach counties.
Adjudication was withheld against Severance-Lopez, avoiding a felony record. She was originally charged with the same racketeering charges made against her former husband weeks after he was originally arrested back on June 5.
Court records do not specify currently who she is to testify against, as fellow co-conspirator Krishna Deokaran also withdrew his guilty plea on his own money laundering charge Monday and entered a guilty plea as well. He has not been sentenced, and no sentencing hearing has been scheduled according to his court docket.
Investigators say Deokaran and Marcos Lopez worked together to operate a series of illegal gambling operations in Lake and Osceola County, including the Eclipse Social Club located on West U.S. Highway 192 just west of Bass/Old Vineland Road. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security said Lopez helped secure the Kissimmee location for Deokaran, 50, and assisted with security and the other locations, in exchange for contributions to his 2020 run for Sheriff.
The operation netted over $21 million in funds, investigators say, noting Marcos Lopez received upwards of $700,000 for his part in it. He is next scheduled for a status hearing in Lake County on Dec. 2. No trial date is currently set.
