Two brothers from Irvinestown have pleaded guilty to wire fraud earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Patrick and Matthew McDonagh had been charged with defrauding a pensioner of $435,000 (£335,000) in America following an extensive FBI investigation and a dramatic chase across a mountain in a caravan.

The brothers pleaded guilty to four federal charges of interstate wire fraud related to the bilking of $435,000 from an elderly man living in the Seattle suburb of Shoreline.

The pair face potential maximum sentences of 20 years in prison plus potential maximum fines of $250,000. Also, they could be ordered to pay restitution to the victim.

Patrick McDonagh, 35, pleaded guilty on September 6 while Matthew McDonagh, 34, entered the same plea on September 5, according to court documents.

The four wire fraud charges come from the brothers sending checks with their alleged ill-gotten gains to unknown and yet-to-be-charged people in other states. They are being held in the Federal Detention Center in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac.

According to court documents, there are four other victims for which the McDonaghs have not been charged yet.

One lives in Illinois where he or she paid Matthew and other “known and unknown” people $75,000 to repave a driveway and build a retaining wall.

The work was poorly done and damaged the victim’s home. The value of the work was significantly less than $75,000.

Three other victims live in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon — one couple and one individual.

Patrick McDonagh falsely told the couple he worked with a legitimate construction company.

He charged the couple $22,500 for foundation repair and did not finish the job.

Patrick McDonagh falsely told a third individual that he worked for the same legitimate construction company.

He and others charged that person $29,000 for mostly unnecessary work on the house’s foundation. The actual value of that work was less than $2,000.

Their guilty pleas earlier this month involved the McDonaghs falsely telling an elderly Shoreline man that his roof and foundation needed extensive repairs.

They dug some trenches, poured some concrete and constantly pressured the man for additional payments — eventually totalling $435,000.

The brothers are allegedly part of a group travelling across the United States, approaching homeowners and falsely telling them that repairs are needed.

Homeland Security Investigations identified both defendants as part of the Travelling Conmen Fraud Group.

Members of this group engage in fraud through paving, roofing, and home improvement scams, defrauding primarily elderly victims by taking money for services which were never provided, or completing the work to a substandard level, often causing unwitting victims larger expenses than having the work done correctly by a licensed contractor.

Sentencing is set for November 25.