Five victims have now come forward to authorities in the United States alleging they were defrauded by Irvinestown brothers Matthew and Patrick McDonagh who were arrested by the FBI following a dramatic caravan chase across a mountain.

The Impartial Reporter understands the brothers are scheduled for arraignment this week and next when they will enter a plea and a trial date will be set. A spokeswoman for the U.S. prosecutor’s office said both brothers, who could face 20 years in prison, have stipulated to detention and are being held at a Federal Detention Centre in Washington.

“As is standard practice when a foreign national is arrested, the consulate for that national is notified.”

The McDonagh brothers, well-known in Fermanagh, face serious charges following an extensive FBI investigation.

According to the indictment, seen by this newspaper, the McDonaghs are “Irish nationals who travelled around the United States claiming they were contractors”. From January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2024, the defendants conspired to defraud victims by employing false documents and fraudulent representations. They are accused of using electronic communications to deceive their targets and subsequently transferring and concealing the illicit proceeds.

Count one involves the conspiracy to commit fraud, a charge that details the coordinated efforts of the defendants to deceive and defraud various entities and individuals.

Count two pertains to wire fraud. It alleges that on February 1, 2022, the defendants transmitted fraudulent communications across state lines, intending to execute their scheme and obtain money under false pretences.

Count three addresses aggravated identity theft. On April 15, 2023, the defendants allegedly used a stolen social security number during the commission of wire fraud.

In addition to the criminal charges, the indictment includes a forfeiture allegation. If convicted, the McDonaghs will be required to forfeit any property derived from the proceeds of their criminal activities, as stipulated under Title 18 of the United States Code.

The case centres on allegations that they defrauded several people, including a pensioner whom they posed as home repairmen to deceive. They pressured him into paying for non-existent repairs. This scheme began in January 2024, when the brothers approached the victim in Shoreline, Washington, claiming urgent roof repairs were needed.

According to the court documents, the brothers did not perform any roofing or foundation work, as they claimed they did. An expert inspected the victim’s house and discovered there was no recent work done on the roof, no evidence of the titanium tie-rod system they said it needed, no crack in the foundation, and no evidence that the trench would help fix any foundation issues.

Although the McDonaghs did some concrete work and patched holes, this would “should have cost a few thousand dollars at most”.

Despite this, they demanded more money, including $20,000 purportedly for taxes.

Unbeknownst to the homeowner, the McDonaghs had a history of defrauding other homeowners and were part of a group of travelling scammers.

Matthew McDonagh cashed each cheque in Everett, Washington. In a later interview, he told an FBI agent that he then delivered the money to his “bosses”, and took a cut. The McDonaghs and their co-conspirators told the victim to wire money to pay for materials, even though they did not use €200,000 worth of supplies on his home. On January 25, 2024, the victim wired €200,000 from his account to a bank account in New York at the McDonagh’s direction.

The bank in Washington captured surveillance of Matthew McDonagh cashing many of the victim’s cheques – including on January 11, 2024.

The criminal complaint details that the McDonaghs used false promises to obtain money fraudulently.