Home Economy Government British national federally indicted in construction, money laundering scheme

British national federally indicted in construction, money laundering scheme

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PBN Staff

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02/28/2025

4wCRtzIk-fedcourt — A FEDERAL GRAND jury in Rhode island has indicted a British national from Northern Ireland for participating in multi-state construction and money laundering scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Sara Miron Bloom announced Thursday. / COURTESY U.S. DISTRICT COURT

PROVIDENCE – A federal grand jury in Rhode Island has indicted a British national from Northern Ireland for participating in multistate construction and money laundering scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Sara M. Bloom announced Thursday. Elijah Gavin, 29, who also went by Timothy O’Reilly and Elijah Thomas, has been charged with conspiracy, wire

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PROVIDENCE – A federal grand jury in Rhode Island has indicted a British national from Northern Ireland for participating in multistate construction and money laundering scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Sara M. Bloom announced Thursday. Elijah Gavin, 29, who also went by Timothy O’Reilly and Elijah Thomas, has been charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. Bloom says Gavin and his co-conspirators are accused of defrauding property owners in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York of more than $1 million, including a 78-year-old Rhode Island woman who paid more than $850,000 for unnecessary foundation and basement repairs. According to court documents, Gavin, who was in the U.S. illegally, and his co-conspirators, allegedly went to different cities and states soliciting construction work. The members, Bloom says, often quoted a low price and then, after further inspection, allegedly either demanded more money or convinced the homeowner that their homes or businesses needed major repairs. The group, recognized by the FBI’s Terrorist Screen Center as a transnational organized crime croup called the "Common Travelers," would allegedly hire day laborers that did not have work authorization documents or pull permits, Bloom says. They would allegedly also do low quality, unnecessary, or incomplete work, sometimes damaging homeowners’ residences. The group formed and allegedly used multiple construction businesses and falsely represented the business’ status, experience and quality of work, Bloom says. They also allegedly falsely represented their identities and skills to homeowners, and made false representations to property owners regarding their properties' condition, work they would perform, and the needed machinery, materials and equipment for work. Bloom alleges money was collected for unfinished jobs or work that wasn’t included and property owners paid for equipment that was never used on the site, according to court documents. Funds that the conspiracy allegedly collected were deposited into bank accounts controlled by co-conspirators or transferred to other individuals who laundered the fraudulently obtained monies, the acting attorney says. Gavin remains federal custody since his arrest in New Jersey on Jan. 29. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in U.S. District Court in Providence on March 10. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra R. Hebert and Taylor A. Dean.