A key witness and alleged co-conspirator in the illegal gambling case against suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was recently arrested after being accused of money laundering, court records show.
Krishna Kumar Deokaran, 50, was arrested Oct. 6 by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of money laundering. Specifics were not immediately available, but his charging document says he allegedly committed the offense between January and May 2024 in Lake, Osceola and Orange counties.
The charge was brought by the Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution, which is handling the Lopez case. Deokaran pleaded not guilty and posted a $20,000 bond, according to court records. His attorney, Dan Eckhart, declined to comment when reached by phone Monday night.
Deokaran, who was not arrested when Lopez and others were in June, is among the prosecution’s key trial witnesses in the case against Lopez. In court documents, he was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator who prosecutors said owned and operated many of the illegal casinos involved in the gambling enterprise.
Deokaran was described as the man “who stood at the helm” of the gambling enterprise, according to a 255-page law enforcement affidavit filed in the case. The affidavit describes an illegal gambling operation that operated casinos in Lake, Marion, Sumter and Osceola counties, had aspirations to move into other states and made more than $21 million.
He came to U.S. Homeland Security’s attention as he tried to launder more than a million dollars in illegal gambling profits, the affidavit shows, and ultimately provided extensive information about his operation and Lopez’s involvement.
Deokaran told investigators, for example, that he paid Lopez between $600,000 to $700,000 in illegal earnings over the course of their partnership and watched the sheriff upgrade both his car and his house.
