Illegal Operator Pleads Guilty in Case Tied to Florida Sheriff’s $21M Protection Ring

Posted on: November 26, 2025, 11:45h. 

Last updated on: November 26, 2025, 11:45h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Operator pleads guilty and agrees to testify against ex-sheriff.
  • Lopez accused of protecting multimillion-dollar illegal gambling network.
  • Undercover sting exposes cash laundering and corrupt political ties.

The former operator of the Eclipse Social Club – the illegal Florida gambling parlor at the center of the case against ex-Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez – pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of money laundering.

Florida gambling ring, Osceola sheriff case, Eclipse Social Club, money laundering, corruption charges
Krishna Deokaran, accused gambling-parlor operator who pleaded guilty to money laundering Tuesday. He is alleged to have paid then-Sheriff Marcos Lopez hundreds of thousands of dollars for his protection. (Image: Lake County Sheriff’s Office)

Krishna Deokaran paid thousands of dollars in cash to Lopez in return for protection of his multimillion-dollar gambling business, according to prosecutors.

Deokaran is understood to have accepted a plea deal on reduced charges after agreeing to testify against the disgraced sheriff and assist prosecutors in building their case.

Lopez, 56, was arrested in June on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering stemming from his alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar gambling ring.

According to prosecutors, he played a “multifaceted role” in expanding and protecting a network of unlicensed internet cafés across Central Florida that generated more than $21 million and was tied to widespread public corruption.

Lopez, who became Osceola County’s first Hispanic sheriff in 2021, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Thousands in Kickbacks

Lopez’s association with Deokaran began in 2019 when he was a candidate to become sheriff. The two became friends and Deokaran donated $5K to his campaign, according to prosecutors.

Lopez connected Deokaran to a third defendant in the case, Ying “Kate” Zhang, a realtor who imported illegal gambling machines from abroad, now a fugitive believed to be in China.

For facilitating the introduction and promising to protect their gaming operations once he became sheriff, Lopez was paid between $600K and $700K in cash kickbacks, according to court filings.

Dekoran’s plea came a day after Lopez’s estranged wife Robin Severance-Lopez agreed a deal with prosecutors that will see her plead guilty to money laundering and lying to a judge in exchange for probation and no criminal conviction. She may also be required to testify against her husband.

According to prosecutors, she played a “ministerial” role in the operation, which included accepting a bag stuffed with cash for Lopez from Deokaran on the same day the sheriff made him a “special deputy.”

Federal Sting

Ultimately, Lopez’s protection could not shield the operation from state and federal authorities who came sniffing around the network of gaming establishments after receiving a tipoff.

In 2024, Deokaran handed over $2.4 million in cash to a man he believed could help him launder it. In fact, he was an undercover agent with the Department of Homeland Security to whom Deokaran boasted of his “special deputy” status and his connection to Lopez, according to court documents.

Lopez, who is due in court December 8, faces decades in prison if convicted.