Listed in same case as Marcos, legally making her a co-conspirator in racketeering case
Robin Lynn Severance Lopez, the wife of suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, is now housed in the same Lake County Jail as her estranged husband, after her arrest Monday morning by Homeland Security agents in Harmony.
She made an initial appearance in front of a judge Tuesday morning, where a judge set a bond of $400,000 despite the objections of Ms. Lopez’s defense, who said the bond was over three times her net worth and that she isn’t a flight risk. Should she bond out, a stipulation is that she have no contact with Marcos.
During the hearing, her defense noted part of the evidence against her — that she sent a W-9 form to a co-conspirator in the case.
She was booked under the same court case number as Marcos and fellow defendants Carol Cote, Sharon Fedrick and Sheldon Wetherholt — legally making Robin Lopez a co-conspirator as well. Those other three defendants were released on bonds of $100,000 to $300,000.
Her next currently scheduled court date is a July 21 arraignment. The state has filed the same motion against the two, to assure her bond does not come from "ill-gotten funds".
Co-conspirator Ying “Kate” Zhang remains at large; investigators have said they believe she has fled the country, possibly to China. The state has a 255-page affidavit detailing more of its findings but has said it will not release it until all co-defendants are under arrest.
Marcos Lopez remains held in the Lake County Jail after his June 5 arrest for felony racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. He has been held for going on three weeks on a $1 million bond; prosecutors were granted a stipulation that the court can inquire about the source of funds used to post bail. Should he be released on bond, he will be subject to GPS monitoring, must surrender his passport and firearms, and can have no contact with the named co-defendants.
Monday, his defense, which now includes Kissimmee attorney Migdalia Perez, waived his appearance at upcoming non-mandatory court dates. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday at 8:30 a.m.
An investigation led by the Department of Homeland Security and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement began in 2023 and reportedly uncovered a gambling operation, with slot-machine type games and a lottery, running from 2019 — prior to he 2020 election as Sheriff — through August 2024. The restaurant and hookah bar on U.S. Highway 192 just west of Medieval Times billed itself as the “Eclipse Social Club”. Investigators say he was involved in the organization that operating in Osceola and Lake counties and generated over $20 million in illegal profits; they claim he received between $600,000 and $700,000 from the operation, used as campaign contributions and personal payments.
