PORTLAND, Ore.- A Portland woman was expected to spend at least one year in prison after she pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in a U.S. district court in January.

(kgw.com Graphic)

Thu Hang Thi "Anna" Nguyen knowingly used drug money to buy a convertible, according to investigators. She made a plea agreement that would likely cut her prison time from the 20-year maximum to just one year and a day.

Her former live-in boyfriend, Mark Phommachanh, is serving more than three years in a federal prison. He was convicted of marijuana trafficking as part of a conspiracy to distribute more than l00 kilograms of marijuana.

According to investigators, Phommachanh would deposit cash earned from drug sales into bank accounts belonging to himself and Nguyen. He deposited about $52,000 between September of 2002 and January of 2003. Nguyen then used the money to buy a car from a Wilsonville Mercedes Benz dealership, investigators said.

As part of her plea deal, Nguyen had to give up a house in Northeast Portland, a diamond ring, and cash.

“Asset forfeiture is an effective tool to hinder money laundering,“ U.S. attorney Karin Immergut said in a statement . “It deprives the traffickers and launderers of their profits."

Nguyen was scheduled to appear in court on March 12. The plea agreement is only a recommendation, and the judge could refuse to honor it and impose a stiffer sentence.