LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – An associate of suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez has been charged with money laundering by the same statewide prosecutors handling a case involving a multi-million-dollar illegal gambling operation.
Krishna Deokaran, 50, was booked into the Lake County jail on Oct. 6 and released the same day on a $20,000 bond, newly obtained court records show.
Deokaran has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Specific details of Deokaran’s alleged crime have not yet been disclosed.
In previously released court papers, prosecutors accused the Orlando businessman of owning and operating several illegal gaming rooms in Lake, Sumter and Osceola counties.
Deokaran told investigators he paid Lopez between $600,000 and $700,000 in proceeds from the gaming businesses since 2020.
The cash payments were normally put into manila envelopes and given to Lopez at restaurants or at the sheriff’s home, Deokaran claimed.
In exchange for the money from Deokaran, prosecutors alleged Lopez used his position as sheriff to protect the illegal gambling operation.
Lopez has pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges.