ICE Deported 'Brian' - Months Later He Was Back Fleecing Seattle Homeowners, And He's One Of Dozens

The bearded man in the cowboy hat who talked his way onto Seattle porches as "Brian" was, according to a KING 5 investigation, an Irishman ICE had already arrested in Boston and deported to Ireland on July 16, 2025. Five months later, the station reports, he was knocking on homeowner David Diedrick's door.

KING 5's investigators say sources in Ireland and the UK identified "Brian" as Bernard "Bernie" McDonagh, 42, and that the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the identification. ICE had described him as being in the country illegally when it picked him up in July 2025. "He pretty much just turned around and came back," Diedrick told the station.

The pitch, as Diedrick tells it, was a small one. "Brian" stopped him on the sidewalk and said the chimney "could use some work," quoting a job on the top three rows and a cap. Diedrick figured anything under $5,000 was manageable. Once work began, the problems multiplied, the whole chimney came down, and the number became $22,000. "It's January. It's raining," Diedrick said.

He got off lightly. Another homeowner told KING 5 of losing nearly $200,000 to the same man, and said that halfway through the job his company's name changed from TrueCr