The owner of La Popular, a money service business with locations in Oregon and Washington, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder proceeds from drug trafficking. Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes, 40, a Guatemalan national residing unlawfully in the United States, admitted guilt to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Court documents state that Barrera Orantes operated La Popular stores in Hillsboro, Beaverton, Woodburn, Odell and Canby in Oregon as well as Vancouver, Washington. Between August 1 and November 1, 2024, the stores sent more than $4.2 million in wire transfers to Mexico. During this period, Barrera Orantes and co-conspirators accepted $49,500 in cash identified as drug proceeds and laundered it through the business. She charged a ten percent commission for laundering the funds. Barrera Orantes acknowledged using false sender information for wire transfers, breaking up transactions into smaller amounts across different store locations to hide the source of the money.
On April 16, 2025, federal investigators executed search warrants at her residence in Beaverton and three La Popular stores located in Beaverton, Hillsboro and Vancouver. They arrested Barrera Orantes during these operations. Agents seized $316,542 in cash along with a 2021 Cadillac Escalade vehicle, jewelry and high-end clothing.
A federal grand jury indicted Barrera Orantes on May 13, 2025 on multiple charges including money laundering conspiracy as well as failure to file required currency transaction reports or suspicious activity reports.
Barrera Orantes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and agreed to forfeit her Beaverton home along with all property seized during the investigation.
She faces up to 20 years imprisonment along with a fine of up to $500,000 and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for January 21, 2026 before a U.S. District Court Judge.
The investigation was conducted by several agencies including Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division (https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation), Homeland Security Investigations (https://www.ice.gov/hsi), Federal Bureau of Investigation (https://www.fbi.gov/), and Westside Interagency Narcotics Team (https://www.co.washington.or.us/Sheriff/Enforcement/westside-interagency-narcotics-team.cfm). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher L. Cardani and Julia Jarrett for the District of Oregon.
