Federal officials said Tuesday that a Philadelphia construction worker who was shot and killed last week in a dispute with a homeowner was a member of a global gang of con artists.
The Department of Homeland Security said Salis Hanrahan, 20, of the United Kingdom, was part of the Traveling Conmen Fraud Group.
The criminal organization consists of Irish or U.K. nationals who overstay their temporary visas to the U.S. and pretend to be construction workers, according to the Department of Justice.
Authorities said the fraudsters regularly scam prospective clients by quoting low prices and then boost their rates after inspections uncover areas requiring major repairs.
The fraudsters typically perform shoddy or incomplete work and even damage homeowners’ properties, the Justice Department said.
Officials said Hanrahan was in the country illegally, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection said they have no record of when he entered the U.S.
Police said Hanrahan was part of a crew installing siding on a Philadelphia home last week when the homeowner fatally shot him.
George Barr, 75, was charged with murder in connection to the shooting. He is jailed while awaiting trial.
In April, Irish fraud group member John O’Brien was sentenced to more than 4 years in federal prison after he bilked homeowners in Rhode Island and Massachusetts of roughly $1.5 million between 2021 and 2025.
Prosecutors said O’Brien was caught after he initially collected $9,500 from an elderly homeowner in Warwick, Rhode Island, and sought to bilk an extra $80,000 from the victim after discovering new areas in need of repair. The homeowner reported him to the police shortly afterward.
The Justice Department said it charged British fraud group member Elijah Gavin in February after he was accused of conning multiple homeowners in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York.
One of the victims was a 78-year-old Rhode Island woman who prosecutors said was fraudulently induced to pay more than $850,000 for unnecessary foundation and basement repairs.
