A British man alleged to be part of an international criminal organisation who entered the U.S. without documentation has been shot and killed in the U.S.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), British national Salis Hanrahan was believed to be involved in money laundering and fraud schemes while working under the counter as a contractor in Philadelphia.
According to witnesses to his death who spoke to NBC10, the 20-year-old from Essex was working with a construction crew installing siding on a house in Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood on July 8.
He reportedly entered the house that he was working on, got into an altercation with the owner, left the house and collapsed on the ground with a gunshot to the chest. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, per NBC10 reporting.
Hanrahan’s former boxing club, Colchester Amateur Boxing Club, posted a tribute to him on Facebook, saying: “We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of former CABC boxer Salis Hanrahan. We didn’t know Salis for a long time, but in that time he brought lots of laughter. A good kid taken far too soon.”
75-year-old home owner George Barr has been charged with Hanrahan’s murder, reckless endangerment and possession of a criminal instrument. A gun was found at the scene, per CBS.
Investigators have since revealed that Hanrahan not only did not have a work permit in the U.S. but was part of a transnational fraud organisation known as the Travelling Conmen Fraud Group, according to NBC10.
This is a criminal organisation tied to the UK and Ireland, where members, who lack work visas, solicit construction jobs and then convince their victims that their houses are in need of significant, substantial, and expensive repairs. They are not skilled laborers, and often leave the houses they’ve “repaired” in worse condition than when they arrived.
In a documented Travelling Conman Fraud Group case from 2025, a Northern Irishman in the U.S. was accused of swindling $850,000 out of his 78-year-old victim by convincing her she needed foundation work on her home, per the Department of Justice. The work was not only completely unnecessary but was left incomplete and in some parts of the house not done at all.
Another Travelling Conman Fraud Group case from April 2026 resulted in Irish national John O-Brien, 28, being sentenced to 56 months in federal prison for wire fraud.
According to the DHS, he stole over $1 million from his victims across Rhode Island and Massachusetts. U.S. attorney Charles Calenda said he inflicted substantial damage to victims’ homes, and in one case bonded with an elderly veteran about their shared Irish heritage to win his trust before fleecing him out of tens of thousands of dollars.
The DHS said Hanrahan had already been denied an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) to enter the U.S. because of his documented ties to the fraud organisation. However, he still managed to enter the country and work as a construction crew member.
A DHS spokesperson told The Independent: “Salis Hanrahan was an illegal alien from the United Kingdom. He entered the country illegally on an unknown date and location and was denied Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) as he was determined to have affiliation with “The Traveling Conman Fraud Group,” a transnational criminal organization. ICE and CBP have never encountered this individual.”
