An Irish national illegally present in the United States is now in federal custody after being initially arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The 28-year-old man has been ordered detained on criminal wire fraud and conspiracy charges related to an alleged scheme to defraud 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 overstaying his visa and violating the terms of his admission from Ireland into the United States. After further investigation from law enforcement authorities, a federal criminal complaint was filed alleging that O’Brien defrauded numerous Rhode Island and Massachusetts residents in a fraudulent home repair scheme.
On April 3, O’Brien was arraigned in U.S. District Court on the federal criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is now in the Department of Justice’s custody and will face trial on criminal charges.
Court documents allege O’Brien and others were part of a scheme that defrauded property owners by convincing the victims to pay for unnecessary home repairs and services. It is also alleged that O’Brien falsely represented the qualifications of his construction business, “Traditional Masonry & Construction.”
Law enforcement authorities first became aware of O’Briens’ alleged criminal activity when an 83-year-old Warwick, Massachusetts, resident, identified in court documents as Victim 1, called the Warwick Police Department to report a contractor had swindled him. Victim 1 alleged O’Brien told him he observed cracks in Victim 1’s foundation while working on another property in the neighborhood.
O’Brien subsequently offered to repair the foundation damage and collected nearly $10,000 from the victim. As work progressed, O’Brien allegedly claimed that further damage was discovered. O’Brien allegedly revised the repair costs and sought an additional $80,000 from the victim. A home inspector was later dispatched by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island and found no evidence of a need for these extensive foundation repairs.
Other alleged victims have come forward and reported being approached by O’Brien with unsolicited offers to make minor home repairs that later turned into more extensive, costly projects. Investigative authorities estimate that unnecessary home foundation repairs defrauded homeowners of more than $1,000,000.
Hundreds of flyers advertising O’Brien’s Traditional Masonry & Construction were seized by law enforcement at the time of his arrest. Additional evidence included four binders containing quotes, contracts, and invoices for the company. The documents and contracts are dated between April 2024 through March 2025 and range from $300 to $205,000. The approximate value of the contracts contained within the binders totaled $1,987,650.00, according to investigators.
According to the FBI, the scheme O’Brien is alleged to have been executing is becoming increasingly common throughout the United States. It has come to be known as Traveling Conman Fraud. According to the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, Conmen Travelers are groups of Irish or U.K. nationals who entered the United States on pleasure or tourist visas that do not allow them to work or, more commonly, they enter the United States illegally.
Once in the United States, they visit different cities and states, soliciting construction work. The members often quote a low price but, after further inspection, demand much more money and convince the homeowner that their property needs major repairs. According to the FBI, the suspects often hire day laborers, do not have work authorization documents, do not pull permits, and do low-quality, unnecessary, or incomplete work. In some cases, the fraudsters cause damage to homeowners’ residences during the repair process.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Attorney’s Office recommend a few simple tips to avoid becoming a victim. These include being cautious with unsolicited contractors, getting a second opinion for costly repairs, checking licenses and verifying that a business address is legitimate and actually exists, and ensuring contractors have a permit for work performed.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
