A 27-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, John O’Rourke, aka John Casey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to illegal reentry after previously being deported. David X. Sullivan, the United States Attorney for the Connecticut district, announced the update. In a shocking revelation, the young man also used six identities across five states before being caught.
According to the press note released by the Connecticut Attorney’s Office, the court records and arguments suggest that the accused used six other identities, including John O’Rouke, Michael Casey, John Joyce, Robert Davanzo, David Collins, and James McCormack.
Previously Deported British Citizen Pleads Guilty to Illegally Reentering U.S. @HSINewEngland https://t.co/3wqcJrxEjS
— U.S. Attorney CT (@USAO_CT) May 14, 2026
He was arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, by U.S. Border Patrol agents under one of his aliases, along with four individuals, near Fort Covington, New York, which is also close to the Canadian border. Following the probe, investigators discovered that the 27-year-old didn’t have a permitted status in the United States, and on Oct. 15, 2024, he was deported from New York to Canada.
Nevertheless, he illegally reentered the United States the following year on Feb. 18, 2025, and was apprehended using the name John Casey in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was subsequently charged with state offenses, including evading responsibility and breach of peace.
Per justice.gov, on March 2, 2026, O’Rourke was apprehended under the name John Casey in Pleasanton, California, after a judge in Torrington, Connecticut, issued an arrest warrant against him for first-degree larceny, carrying out home improvement work without a valid certificate, and falsely presenting himself as a registered contractor. He also reportedly has a pending state case in Danbury, Connecticut, for larceny.
Additional probe into the matter has also revealed that O’Rourke has outstanding cases stemming from his arrests under different identities in Suffolk County, New York, in November 2023; Everett, Washington, in September 2025; Linden, New Jersey, in December 2025; and Snohomish County, Washington, in January 2026. The Surrey and England’s law enforcement have also been looking for him.
Following his detention on March 2, Judge Oliver has scheduled sentencing for Aug. 6, during which O’Rourke could face a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. Homeland Security Investigations has been investigating the matter, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel is handling the prosecution.
The release emphasizes that the case is a significant part of Operation Take Back America. This nationwide effort uses the full resources of the Justice Department to combat illegal immigration, dismantle cartels and transnational criminal groups, and keep communities safe from violent offenders.
According to the BBC, in December 2025, a 36-year-old Mahad Mohamud, a Somali TikToker known online as “Garyaqaan,” was deported from the U.S. to Mogadishu after being detained by ICE.
The report suggests that he defended his clan’s interests on the internet, while the accounts linked to the White House, including Rapid Response 47, labeled him as a “criminal, illegal scumbag.” He was also accused of kidnapping a French official from a hotel in the Somali capital. However, he denied all the allegations, and he was never convicted.
