US federal probe targets multi-million dollar Irish scam gang

The US federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security, is investigating an Irish criminal fraud and construction scam gang operating across multiple states, according to RTÉ Prime Time. Victims have collectively paid the gang tens of millions of dollars, with individual victims losing several hundred thousand dollars.

In Seattle alone, around $15 million has been lost, mostly by elderly homeowners who have lost life savings and retirement funds. The scammers, believed to be mostly Irish men who travelled to the US from Ireland, defrauded homeowners in the wider Washington State area and in Oregon. Police have identified around 30 suspects in the Pacific Northwest region, most of whom are in the US unlawfully on overstayed visas.

Some suspects have been arrested and deported back to Ireland before committing similar offenses again in the US. The scam typically starts with a low offer, which quickly escalates as more work is needed, using scare tactics to pressure homeowners into paying more. Some of the money is being laundered in New York and transferred into cryptocurrencies overseas.