Lake Oswego Resident Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking and Money Laundering

PORTLAND, Ore.— A Lake Oswego, Oregon, man pleaded guilty today to trafficking cocaine and laundering the proceeds through a business bank account to buy cryptocurrency.

Michael Wayne Frost, 47, pleaded guilty to distributing more than 50 kilograms of cocaine and laundering the money from selling the cocaine.

According to court documents, law enforcement officers engaged in multiple controlled purchases of cocaine from Frost. On July 2, 2024, a federal search warrant was served on Frost’s residence in Lake Oswego. Agents seized a kilogram of cocaine and about $20,000 in cash from the residence. Frost admitted to selling between 10-12 kilograms of cocaine per week. Agents later applied for additional warrants and seized approximately $509,000 in cash and cryptocurrency tied to the cocaine sales. Frost deposited some of the cash into a business bank account he controlled and then transferred funds to Robinhood, a platform he used to invest in cryptocurrency, in an effort to launder the drug proceeds.

On August 21, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a seven-count indictment charging Frost with distributing cocaine and money laundering.

Frost pleaded guilty today to one count of cocaine distribution and one count of money laundering. He also agreed to forfeit all of the seized cryptocurrency and cash.

Frost faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a 10 million dollar fine, and five years of supervised release. He will be sentenced on January 7, 2026, before a U.S. District Court Judge.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit at the United States Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Kemp Strickland and Christopher Cardani, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.