How an Irish building contractor conned US homeowners out of €1.3 million

John O’Brien’s scam was simple. Arriving in the US on a tourist visa in 2021, he set himself up as a building contractor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. By the time the authorities caught up with the 28 year-old, he had conned more than 100 victims out of an estimated $2.5 million. Many of the homeowners who handed him their life savings for promised building work were charmed by his Irish accent and friendly demeanour. Sentencing him to four years and eight months in prison, the judge talked about “the extent and breadth of the harm” done to victims who opened their doors to O’Brien out of kindness and trust. He had pleaded guilty. Many of his victims gave statements in court including Candace Gauvin, a retired school crossing guard, who emptied a life insurance account, eventually paying him more than $90,000 for shoddy work. One of the more than a dozen people who provided character references for O’Brien included fellow Traveller Senator Eileen Flynn who advocated for his early release for the “benefit of his young family”. Local reporter Susan Zalkind was in court in Rhode Island for O’Brien’s case and she explains how the scam worked, how it funded his lavish lifestyle and the impact on the victims. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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How an Irish building contractor conned US homeowners out of €1.3 million is an episode from In The News by dconlon@irishtimes.com .

This episode is 25:22 long.

This episode was published on Apr 13, 2026.

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