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An illegal U.S. resident, who laundered more than $4 million for drug traffickers operating in the Portland metropolitan area, was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison when she appeared in federal court on Wednesday.
According to court documents, forty-year-old Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes from Guatemala was the owner and operator of a string of La Popular stores when she wired over $4.2 million to Mexican outlets associated with drug trafficking.
The wire transfers occurred between August and November 2024. During that time, Barrera Orantes and co-conspirators accepted $49,500 in cash from drug proceeds, which were then laundered through her La Popular stores located in Hillsboro, Beaverton, Woodburn, Odell, and Canby, Oregon, as well as in Vancouver, Washington.
In exchange for a 10% commission, Barrera Orantes adopted techniques to make the detection of the laundered funds more difficult. She structured the wire transfers into smaller amounts and sent them from her various La Popular stores.
Search Warrant Uncovered a Huge Cash Stash, a Luxury Sedan, Jewelry, and High-End Clothing
Barrera Orantes was arrested on April 16, 2025, when investigators executed a federal search warrant at her residence in Beaverton and at three of her stores in Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Vancouver. During the search, investigators seized more than $300,000 in cash, jewelry, high-end clothing, and a 2021 Cadillac Escalade.
On May 13, 2025, Barrera Orantes was charged with 23 counts of money laundering, conspiracy, failure to file a currency transaction report, and failure to file a suspicious activity report.
She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments on October 24, when she also agreed to forfeit her Beaverton residence, all seized cash, and other property involved in the money laundering offense. Barrera Orantes will serve three years of supervised release from prison.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team. The prosecutors were U.S. Attorneys Christopher L. Cardani and Julia Jarrett.
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