Tag: Guatemalan national

PORTLAND, OR – A Guatemalan national who was unlawfully living in the United States was sentenced to federal prison for laundering money for drug traffickers through a network of money service businesses in the Portland metropolitan area, prosecutors said.

Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes, 40, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Barrera Orantes owned and operated La Popular money service stores in Hillsboro, Beaverton, Woodburn, Odell, and Canby, Oregon, as well as in Vancouver, Washington. From August through November 2024, the La Popular locations sent more than $4.2 million in wire transfers to destinations in Mexico associated with drug trafficking organizations.

During that same period, Barrera Orantes and co-conspirators accepted $49,500 in cash represented as drug proceeds and laundered the money through the La Popular stores, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Barrera Orantes knowingly accepted cash she believed came from drug dealing and, in exchange for a 10% commission, conducted wire transfers using methods designed to avoid detection. Those methods included using false sender information, structuring transfers into smaller amounts and routing transactions through multiple store locations to conceal the source of the funds.

On April 16, 2025, federal investigators executed search warrants at Barrera Orantes’ Beaverton residence and three La Popular stores in Beaverton, Hillsboro and Vancouver. Agents seized more than $300,000 in cash, a 2021 Cadillac Escalade, jewelry and high-end clothing. Barrera Orantes was arrested the same day.

A federal grand jury in Portland returned a 23-count indictment on May 13, 2025, charging her with money laundering and conspiracy, failure to file a currency transaction report and failure to file a suspicious activity report.

Barrera Orantes pleaded guilty on October 24, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. As part of the plea agreement, she agreed to forfeit her Beaverton residence and all cash and property seized in connection with the money laundering scheme.