Million Dollar Drug Trafficking Ring Operating in Oregon – Woman Imprisoned for Money Laundering
A 44-year-old Oregon woman who deposited millions of dollars into her Tualatin beauty salon and personal bank accounts for her drug trafficking boyfriend has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, becoming the 10th person convicted in the case.
Oregon U.S. District Judge Says Woman Helped Tear Families Apart
Passing sentence on Jacqueline Paola Rodriguez Barrientos, Oregon U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon said she had involved herself in a drug operation that has torn families apart.
The alleged drug trafficking ringleader, Luis Antonio Beltran Arrendondo, is set to stand trial on December 2 charged with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl and heroin, and conspiracy to launder the proceeds from the sale of drugs.
IRA Agents Say Cash Deposits Exceeded Plausible Cash Flow
IRS agent Scott McGeachy said the $3.5 million cash deposited by Rodriguez Barrientos far exceeded plausible legitimate cash flow for a single beauty salon during the pandemic.
McGeachy said the money was deposited into the defendant’s Mazatlán Beauty Salon and her personal bank accounts between January 11 and October 12, 2021.
The court heard that over eight months, Rodriguez Barrientos also hid drug profits by purchasing nine residential properties worth more than $4.6 million in Beaverton, Portland, North Las Vegas, Nevada, and Vancouver.
U.S. Attorney Peter D. Sax said the properties were purchased for cash – using cashier’s checks and cash amounts.
Describing a sentence of four years and nine months as appropriate, Sax pointed out that sentencing guidelines recommended a significantly harsher prison term of up to nine years. He added that Rodriguez Barrientos played a significant role ‘in legitimizing millions of dollars’ obtained from her live-in boyfriend’s drug trafficking activities.
The court also heard that Rodriguez Barrientos deposited sums between $10,000 and $373,000 into her beauty salon account up to a year after the business had been dissolved.
Jacqueline Paola Rodriguez Barrientos Has Been in Custody for Nearly Three Years
Rodriguez Barrientos has been in custody for nearly three years, but her attorney Scott L. Mullins failed to persuade Judge Simon for a sentence of time served. Mullins, who said his client hoped to obtain custody of her 13-year-old daughter, pointed out that she was not involved in handling drugs, but only in the financial side of the operation.
Using a Spanish interpreter, Rodriguez Barrientos told Judge Simon that she had fallen in love with Luis Antonio Beltran Arrendondo and had blindly put her faith and confidence in him.
Federal agents began a wiretap investigation of the drug trafficking ring in 2021 assisted by state and local police. They suspected that the ring was transporting counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, and heroin, from California for distribution in Oregon and Washington.
FBI Agents Seized a Large Drug Haul and Cash
Sax said FBI agents seized 115,000 of the counterfeit pills, 26 kilograms of heroin, and 41 pounds of methamphetamine. They also took possession of $348,000 in cash.
Rodriguez Barrientos was arrested on February 17, 2022, at the Las Vegas home she shared with her boyfriend. Agents seized two motor vehicles and receipts proving her lavish lifestyle – a $4,300 cash purchase at Gucci at the Pioneer Place Mall in Portland, and a $9,850 cash purchase at downtown Portland’s leading fashion retailer, Nordstrom.
Rodriguez Barrientos had pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy in July.