A Dublin contractor has pleaded guilty in a Rhode Island courthouse to defrauding New England residents of more than $1.5 million (€1.27 million) in a sprawling scheme targeting elderly homeowners.
Prosecutors asserted that John O’Brien (28) bragged about his exploits in a group chat, sharing a video of one victim writing him a cheque for $90,000. “That’s money for nothing,” O’Brien wrote to his associates, the court heard.
Assistant district attorney Taylor Dean told the court O’Brien fraudulently targeted more than 80 people in the scheme over the course of 3.5 years, successfully inducing at least nine people to conduct building repairs that were not needed, according to court documents.
In an affidavit, federal agent Kurt Ripke alleged O’Brien capitalised on his identity as an Irishman to charm the American victims into agreeing to exorbitant contracts for home repairs. One 84-year-old victim told authorities he felt a bond with O’Brien due to their shared Irish heritage and that this bond caused the elderly Warwick, Rhode Island, resident to “trust” O’Brien.
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Another victim, also over the age of 80, described O’Brien as “very friendly” and noted he brought over two four packs of Guinness to drink together while completing $17,000 of repairs to his front and basement stairs. O’Brien said the repairs were necessary, that the victim would not want his wife to fall, according to court documents.
Court documents provide another account of a victim who said she was initially approached by a handsome young “front man” with an Irish accent, who convinced her to agree to a $1,500 quote to fix her chimney. The next day, a balding man with reddish hair, later identified as O’Brien, appeared to do the work, and upped the price to $25,000.
Ms Dean told the court O’Brien passed out flyers to his fraudulent business: Traditional Masonry & Construction, but he had no connection to the addresses listed with the company, making it difficult to track him down. She told the court he had multiple bank accounts, in one instance used the social security number of another person, and collected more than $2.6 million in cheques from victims, although not all of them were cashed.
She said victims had to take out loans or access their retirement accounts to make payments and that the crime crossed state lines into Massachusetts. When O’Brien was arrested, he was found with multiple Rolex watches, which the prosecutor said were purchased from money launderers; he had two cell phones and more than $5,000 in cash.
O’Brien has remained in custody at the Donald W Wyatt Detention Facility since his March arrest. He entered the courthouse in a beige jumpsuit, his hair slicked back and a black rosary around his neck.
After Ms Dean read out the facts of the case, Judge John J McConnell noted O’Brien shook his head when Ms Dean alleged he scared the victims.
“You admit that [the charges] are all true including scaring them to hire?” Judge McConnell asked.
“Yes, your honor,” O’Brien said. O’Brien then formally stated that he was pleading guilty.
O’Brien faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for March 11th, 2026.
