Money Service Owner Unlawfully in US Sentenced to 41 Months for Laundering Drug Money Across Oregon

Portland, OR. — A Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in the United States has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for laundering drug trafficking proceeds through her money service business operating across Oregon and southwest Washington.

Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes, 40, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. She also agreed to forfeit her Beaverton residence and more than $300,000 in seized cash and property connected to the offense.

According to court records, Barrera Orantes owned and operated multiple La Popular money service locations in Hillsboro, Beaverton, Woodburn, Odell, Canby, and Vancouver, Washington. Between August and November 2024, the businesses transmitted more than $4.2 million in wire transfers to locations in Mexico associated with drug trafficking organizations.

During the same period, Barrera Orantes and her co-conspirators accepted nearly $50,000 in cash represented as proceeds from drug sales and laundered the funds through La Popular. Prosecutors said she charged a 10 percent commission and used tactics designed to evade detection, including falsifying sender information, structuring transactions into smaller amounts, and spreading transfers across multiple store locations.

On April 16, 2025, federal investigators executed search warrants at Barrera Orantes’ Beaverton residence and several La Popular locations, seizing cash, a 2021 Cadillac Escalade, jewelry, and high-end clothing. She was arrested the same day.

A federal grand jury indicted Barrera Orantes on May 13, 2025, on 23 counts including money laundering conspiracy and failure to file required currency transaction and suspicious activity reports. She pleaded guilty on October 24, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher L. Cardani and Julia Jarrett.