Owners of Guatemalan convenience store accused of racketeering, money laundering
Family faces charges in alleged illegal pharmacy, gambling operation
Three members of an Orange County family are facing racketeering and other felony charges after investigators accused them of operating an illegal prescription drug and gambling enterprise out of multiple convenience stores.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - The owners of La Tienda Guatemala – convenience stores with locations in Apopka and Ocoee – are facing multiple felony charges after authorities accused them of running illegal gambling operations and selling prescription drugs from behind the counter.
The Metropolitan Bureau of According to the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI), the family-run stores operated illegal slot machines and distributed unapproved prescription medications brought in from Guatemala.
Bernave Lopez-Perez (left) and Debora Lopez-Perez were arrested in a racketeering case connected to convenience stores they own.
What we know:
Following a months-long Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) investigation into the Apopka and Ocoee convenience stores, the owners of La Tienda Guatemala are accused of bringing in prescription meds from overseas and selling them from behind the counter.
Authorities also claim the owners were using the stores to double as illegal gambling houses, with slot machines in the back.
Convenience store buildings under investigation. (Source: Court evidence)
The backstory:
The Apopka Police Department initially received an anonymous report in October 2025 regarding a suspected sale of Ampicillin – a prescription penicillin antibiotic – being sold at several stores in Apopka, court documents said.
The complaint was forwarded to the MBI for investigation.
In November 2025, MBI agents inspected several empty medication boxes labeled "Ampicillin Capsules" in trash bags from the dumpster, court documents said. During a December 2025 undercover operation at one of the Apopka businesses, agents saw a gambling slot machine at the back of the store, the evidence said.
Alleged illegal drug operation
Investigators said some of the medications the family was accused of selling are illegal in the US, some require a prescription, some were illegal because of the size of the dosage, and some were simply missing labels.
"These were antibiotics," argued their Defense Attorney, Miguel Gonzalez Jr. "It’s not like they’re selling cocaine or fentanyl."
Racketeering, money laundering charges
Three owners – Bernave Lopez-Perez, Debora Lopez-Perez, and Maria Lopez-Perez – face a range of felony charges, including:
- Racketeering
- Money laundering
- Scheme to defraud
- Sale, delivery, or possession of controlled substances
- Conspiracy to sell or deliver controlled substances
Both Debora Lopez-Perez and Maria Lopez-Perez also face counts of keeping or maintaining a structure for controlled substances.
What's next:
Bond was set at over $100,000 for each of the three defendants. As a condition of their release on bond, they'll be required to surrender their passports.
The stores, meanwhile, are still open.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from arrests made in Orange County, Florida and reporting by FOX 35's Marie Edinger.