LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — The day before Marcos Lopez was arrested, he filed a financial disclosure form with the state. In it, he stated he made $250,215 as sheriff for the year, along with a small amount of pension money from the state and military, but didn’t report any homes or money in the bank.
This omission is notable because he had reported this information years earlier. According to documents signed by the suspended sheriff in 2024, he had $206,000 in bank accounts and residences worth over a million dollars.
The year prior, he claimed to have $150,000 and a home worth $480,000. Law enforcement examined this information since his finances are a major focus of both state and federal authorities, who assert he profited at least $600,000 to $700,000 from an illegal gambling operation. The courts are also involved, as he must demonstrate that the funds he presents for bond did not come from these activities.
The state prosecutor stated during his first appearance, “We would ask the release to be stayed until the defendant meets his burden of showing those funds are from non-criminal sources.”
The forms present his financial disclosures from 2020. His filings reveal that in 2021, he informed the ethics commission he had $70,000 in his bank account.
He reported $150,000 on hand the following year, then $206,000 the next year. However, in his filing the day before his arrest, he listed no funds in his bank accounts and indicated he had no secondary source of income.
Now we will need to see what role, if any, these documents may play in proving his finances to secure release from jail. He must show that he has money not linked to the crime he is charged with.
A hearing to discuss his release and finances was scheduled for today, but was canceled shortly after being placed on the docket.
No further hearing has been arranged to determine if he has sufficient funds to secure his release from jail or not.
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