Suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez appears in a Lake County court for a hearing in an illegal gambling case.

Suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez is heading into 2026 at the center of one of Central Florida’s most closely watched criminal cases.

Pressure on Marcos Lopez has likely grown recently after five of his co-defendants struck plea deals with prosecutors, including his estranged wife.

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.