PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A Guatemalan national who was convicted of laundering money for drug traffickers in the Portland metro area through he money service business was sentenced to over three years in prison.
Court documents say 40-year-old Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes sent over $4.2 million through wire transfers to Mexico linked to drug trafficking from August through November 2024.
Barrera Orantes reportedly owned and operated La Popular stores in Hillsboro, Beaverton, Woodburn, Odell, and Canby, as well as Vancouver, Wash.
The money service owner, along with other coconspirators, accepted $49,500 in cash that was laundered through La Popular stores, according to federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors say that Barrera Orantes laundered drug money using methods including using false sender information, structuring wire transfers into smaller amounts, and using different La Popular stores to help conceal the drug proceeds in exchange for a 10% commission.
Investigators searched her Beaverton home on April 16, 2025, as well as La Popular locations in Beaverton, Hillsboro and Vancouver, where they seized over $300,000 in cash, a 2021 Cadillac Escalade, jewelry, and high-end clothing.
Following her arrest on April 16, Barrera Orantes was charged in a 23-count indictment with money laundering and conspiracy, failure to file a currency transaction report, and failure to file a suspicious activity report on May 13.
Barrera Orantes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments on October 24, and agreed to forfeit her Beaverton home and all cash and property seized during the money laundering investigation.
On Wednesday, Barrera Orantes was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.