Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes, a 40-year-old Guatemalan national living unlawfully in the United States, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Barrera Orantes owned and operated La Popular, a money service business with locations in Oregon and Washington.
Court documents show that between August 1 and November 1, 2024, La Popular stores sent more than $4.2 million in wire transfers to Mexico. During this period, Barrera Orantes and others accepted $49,500 in cash represented as drug proceeds and laundered these funds through the stores. She charged a ten percent commission for laundering the money. Barrera Orantes admitted to using false sender information, structuring wire transfers into smaller amounts, and using different store locations to hide the origins of the drug proceeds.
On April 16, 2025, federal investigators executed search warrants at her Beaverton residence and three La Popular stores located in Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Vancouver. They arrested Barrera Orantes and seized $316,542 in cash along with a vehicle—a 2021 Cadillac Escalade—jewelry, and high-end clothing.
A federal grand jury indicted Barrera Orantes on May 13, 2025. The indictment included charges of money laundering and conspiracy as well as failure to file required currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports.
Barrera Orantes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. She agreed to forfeit her Beaverton residence along with all property seized during the investigation.
She faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for January 21, 2026 before a U.S. District Court Judge.
The case is being investigated by several agencies: Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher L. Cardani and Julia Jarrett are prosecuting the case for the District of Oregon.
