Irish citizens, which exist illegally in the United States, are now in federal custody after being first arrested by the US Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). The 28-year-old man was taken into custody on criminal fraud and conspiracy charges related to a suspect's scheme to fraudulent homeowners in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Authorities announced the arrest of John O'Brien by ICE agents in late March for immigration violations related to overlaying his visa and violating conditions for entry from Ireland to the US. After further investigation from law enforcement, federal criminal charges have been filed alleging that O'Brien had fraudulent Rhode Island and Massachusetts residents with fraudulent household repair plans.
On April 3, O'Brien was arrested in US District Court over a federal criminal complaint and charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. He is currently under the control of the Department of Justice and is expected to face criminal charges trial.
court document O'Brien and others allege that it was part of a plan to fraudulent property owners by persuading victims to pay for unnecessary home repairs and services. It is also said that O'Brien misrepresented his construction industry's “traditional masonry and construction” qualification.
Law enforcement officials first recognized O'Brience's alleged criminal activity when 83-year-old Warwick of Massachusetts was identified as victim 1 in court documents and called the Warwick Police Department to report that the contractor had fraudulent him. Victim 1 claimed that O'Brien told him that he had observed a crack in the foundations of Victim 1 while working on another property in the neighborhood.
O'Brien then offered to repair damage to the foundation, raising nearly $10,000 from the victim. As work progressed, O'Brien allegedly claimed that further damage had been discovered. O'Brien is said to have corrected the repair costs and sought an additional $80,000 from the victim. The home inspector was later dispatched by the US Lawyer's Office in the Rhode Island area and no evidence of the need for repairs to these extensive foundations was found.
The other suspect victims came forward and reported that O'Brien was approached with an offer of unsolicited consent. Investigators estimate that unnecessary home foundation repairs have defrauded homeowners worth more than $1,000,000.
Hundreds of flyers promoting O'Brien's traditional masonry and construction were seized by law enforcement at the time of his arrest. Additional evidence included four binders, including company citations, contracts and invoices. Documents and contract dates range from April 2024 to March 2025, ranging from $300 to $205,000. The approximate value of the contracts contained within the binder totaled $1,987,650.00, according to investigators.
According to the FBI, schemes O'Brien is said to be running are becoming more and more common throughout the US. It has become known as a travel con man scam trip. According to the FBI's Terrorist Screening Centre, Conmen Travelers are a group of Irish or British citizens who have entered the United States on a pleasure or tourist visa that does not allow them to work or more generally not to enter the United States illegally.
Once in the US, they will visit various cities and states and solicit construction work. Members often quote low prices, but after further inspections, they ask for more money and convince the homeowner that the property needs major repairs. According to the FBI, suspects often hire day workers, have no work approval documents, do not qualify, and do low-quality, unnecessary or incomplete work. In some cases, scammers will damage the homeowner's home during the repair process.
The Ice Homeland Security Investigation and the U.S. Lawyer's Office recommends some simple tips to avoid becoming a victim. These include being cautious with unsolicited contractors, second opinions on costly repairs, checking your license, verifying that your business address is legitimate and in fact, and ensuring that the contractor is carried out.
Randy Clark He is a 32-year veteran of the US Border Patrol. Before retiring, he served as Chief of Law Enforcement Business and oversaw the operations of nine Border Patrol Bureaus in Del Rio, Texas. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @randyclarkbbtx.
