The owner of several money service businesses spanning Oregon and Washington is now facing federal charges for alleged money laundering activities connected to drug proceeds. Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes, 39, who hails from Guatemala and resides in Beaverton, Oregon, was arraigned in federal court after being sentenced with money laundering charges by a criminal complaint, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to court documents, between 2021 and 2024, Barrera Orantes allegedly accepted cash believed to be drug proceeds through her business, La Popular, and transferred the funds using wiring services in two states, collecting a ten percent fee for each transaction. Working in coordination with others, she reportedly structured large sums into multiple smaller transactions and used false sender information to conceal the activity. These transactions were allegedly intended to avoid detection, with records indicating transfers totaling more than $89 million, including approximately $18.5 million sent to regions in Mexico and Honduras known for drug trafficking activity.
"This investigation has revealed the pivotal role that money service businesses play in laundering the enormous proceeds of trafficking illegal drugs in our community," stated Katie de Villiers, the Chief of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Division for the District of Oregon. Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes of the IRS Criminal Investigation's Seattle Field Office added, reinforcing the narrative of a coordinated defense against coordinated crime, "IRS-CI specializes in fighting illicit financial activity, and we are proud to partner closely with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe," in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In a concerted effort to dismantle this financial support to overseas drug organizations purportedly disguised as routine business transactions, federal search warrants were carried out on Wednesday, at Barrera Orantes' residence and at three La Popular stores. Barrera Orantes was apprehended in Beaverton without incident. If she's found guilty of her charges, the accused is looking at a maximum of two decades in federal prison, with potential supervised release of five years, and a possible fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered amount, whichever is greater.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a federal initiative that involves collaboration among multiple U.S. Department of Justice programs, including the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division’s Third Party Money Laundering (3PML) Project supports these efforts through data analysis to assist in building cases against money service businesses believed to be involved in financial transactions for Mexican drug trafficking organizations.
