Money Transfers
La PopularInformation and Alerts
Alert Details
This business has 2 alerts.
Licensing 1
BBB confirmed that La Popular had not obtained a necessary license from Oregon Division of Financial Regulation.
BBB encourages you to contact the following agency or agencies to confirm this information: - https://dfr.oregon.gov/Pages/index.aspx - (503) 378-4140
Licensing 2
BBB confirmed that La Popular had not obtained a necessary license from Washington Department of Financial Institutions.
BBB encourages you to contact the following agency or agencies to confirm this information: - http://www.dfi.wa.gov - 3609028700
Important Information
Additional Info
Mail sent to the business on 04/29/2025 was returned by the U.S. Postal Service as Attempted - Not Known.
Pending Government Action
The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.
On April 17, 2025, in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, the United States of America filed a Criminal Complaint by Telephone or Other Reliable Electronic Means against Brenda Lili Barrera Orantes, a Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in Beaverton, Oregon and the owner and operator of La Popular, a money service business with locations in Oregon and Washington. Ms. Barrera Orantes was charged with six counts of money laundering and ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
According to court documents, between 2021 and 2024, Barrera Orantes is alleged to have accepted cash from drug proceeds and wired the funds through La Popular stores in Oregon and Washington. In return, Barrera Orantes charged a ten percent commission. Barrera Orantes is further alleged to have worked with others to divide large sums of money into several smaller transactions and used fictitious sender information to conceal her money laundering activities. Financial records indicate that Barrera Orantes transferred more than $89 million through her La Popular stores, including $18.5 million to regions in Mexico and Honduras that are associated with drug trafficking organizations.
On April 16, 2025, investigators executed federal search warrants at Barrera Orantes’ residence and three La Popular stores located in Beaverton, Hillsboro, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. Barrera Orantes was arrested in Beaverton without incident. If convicted, Barrera Orantes faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, five years’ supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the money laundered.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
For more information, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon at https://www.justice.gov/usao-or or (503) 727-1000.
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