Fermanagh brothers jailed for US home repairs scam

They continued to pressure the victim for more money, including wiring a third party $200,000 (£157,730) to cover “building supplies”.

In total, the McDonaghs stole almost half a million dollars – $435,000 – from the victim.

The FBI investigation connected the brothers to contractor fraud complaints in Oregon and Illinois.

In Oregon, Patrick McDonagh represented to three different victims that he was affiliated with a local legitimate construction firm, when in fact he was not.

Those victims paid as much as $29,000 (£22,870) for foundation work that was never completed.

In Illinois, Matthew McDonagh claimed he would repave a victim’s driveway and rebuild a retaining wall for $99,000 (£78,080).

After the victim paid $75,000 (£59,150), the work was poorly done and damaged the victim’s house.

The pair have agreed to make restitution to the victims by reimbursing some or all of the offence-related financial losses.

This includes $235,000 (£185,330) to the Shoreline victim, nearly $50,000 (£39,430) to the three victims in Oregon, $75,000 (£59,149) to a victim in Illinois, and more than $673,000 (£530,760) to a victim in Bellevue, Washington.