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Updated 1.50pm
FORMER SOLICITOR THOMAS Byrne is to be sentenced this afternoon for 50 convictions including fraud, theft and deception.
The 47-year-old pleaded not guilty but was convicted by a jury in the country’s largest-ever fraud trial last month.
The evidence showed how Byrne fraudulently obtained properties from clients and associates and used them to secure loans totaling in excess of €50 million.
The 18 separate loan applications from various financial institutions ranged in value from €1 million to €9 million.
In falsely claiming ownership of the properties, Byrne falsified signatures in a number of cases, including those of at least two elderly women known to him.
The offences occurred between dates in September 2004 and 2007 when Byrne was solicitor based in Walkinstown.
Following the summation, Judge Patrick McCartan praised investigating gardaí for the way they presented the evidence in the six-week long trial.
“In particular the way you marshalled the evidence to be understood for everyone, including myself but especially the jury,” he told the court.
Sentencing will conclude this afternoon, with the charges of forgery carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, fraud 10 years and theft five years.
Reporting by Rónán Duffy; first published 7.15am
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Ya right
@Ole dan tucker: Whatever about him the Garda and police have allowed this get to where it is. They allowed signs be posted that defame and send threatening messages to staff, was any poster dusted for Fingerprints or DNA, no because nobody wanted to move them. 70 incidents in the last few years and no arrests. Quinn is a gambler that’s problem caught up with him.
@Ole dan tucker: He’s getting a bit of heat from his actions and is trying to tone it down temporarily. He hasn’t gone away, you know.
@The long walk home☘️: ye it’s the Gardas fault. Border area has always been peaceful and law abiding. Police need evidence and witnesses, the local community know who these criminals are and are the only ones who can provide the Garda with the information needed to lock them up.
Ye Sean, we believe ya
@Kyle: I notice there has been no statement from or interview with his son on this, Sean Jnr
@Mark Johnson: or his wife or sisters. Or the postman, or the priest
@Mark Johnson: I’d say you love Cluedo, Mark?
@James Douglas: just stating the obvious: Interview the young son, not the father pensioner. @Levante Dublin what has the postman and priest got to do with this?
@Mark Johnson: the one who ran away?
If he really was contrite he would stop blaming banks, regulators and everyone else and apologize to his staff for his gambling that almost led to the loss of their jobs, to the taxpayers that had to bail out his underfunded insurance company and thank the management of his former companies that got the finance together to save local jobs, and be grateful he still lives in a mansion and still has a sh*t load of money for a man that was bankrupt.
@The long walk home☘️: he still has an awful lot for a man who ‘lost everything’ CAB should be on his case.
Any chance of an apology to all the people in Ireland who have to pay a levy on insurance to pay off his gambling debts?
It’s inconceivable that these threats and attacks could take place in that part of the country without the direct involvement of or consent from paramilitaries.
The question is who is the ‘paymaster’ the QIH directors keep referring to?
An ‘ordinary decent criminal’ can’t even sneeze there without permission from paramilitaries.
@The Great Unwashed: that would be some other lad, like.
Sorry, Sean. Don’t believe you.
Perhaps the directors are standing up to racketeering. I’d say Quinn paid a hefty amount to gangsters in his day and nurtured a nice easy income for some nasty people. These directors are brave men and should be protected at all costs.
@2thFairy :Maybe the nub of the problem!
Interesting that when Quinn Holdings rehired SQ for a year all the intimidation stopped .We saw what happened in Cherry Orchard recently where CAB went after 2 goughers who had a protection racket going on against a construction company I wonder was something similar going on here.
Ahh the Badlands again. The narrative has been written in such a way that these areas feel they have been completely neglected and must look after their own. The criminals can act with impunity flying under the flag of convenience of “republicanism” etc. This is just a magnifying glass on the vagaries of life from which those living in cities have been protected. Instead we are worried about same sex marriage…
Pull the other one!
Two faces ?
Godfather – Mafia – Omertà
Sounds familiar! These instigators go around pretending to be pillars of society. Misguided people look up to them.
Big mansions no mortgages – send in CAB to flush out the person(s) behind the attacks on the Directors.
Sure cause you’re a stand up guy! As transparent as my window so he is.
If it’s this bad now I wonder how many small businesses got strong armed and intimidated by certain big businesses over the years
It would be great if these people rang joe Duffy and put an end to this fraud pretending to be an angel
A boycott of businesses and services in these areas should begin.
@Noel O Sullivan: why?
He was abducted the 17th September, not 23rd.
@Olive Whyte: irrelevant. He was abducted
@Elizabeth Sheehan O’Reilly: it’s not irrelevant. If you write a news article you have to have your facts correct. Basic rules of journalism, that I’m not sure those who write for the Journal understand.
Golden Rule: Follow the Money
Criminals won’t work without reward. Risk is so big, the Reward must be BIG. Who has pockets deep enough. Who has grievance big enough. Clearly, only ONE answer
Sean Fitzpatrick and David drum are the root cause of this. They are the ones that manipulated the Anglo share price by there unlawful activity.Sean Quinn along with many others were buying shares in a bank that had false accounts.
The Irish state should also hang there head in shame for having him put in prison for something that was not his fault.
@Jp Murray:
Quinn bankrupted himself with Contracts for Difference, not Anglo shares. I’m certainly no great supporter of Sean Fitz or Drumm, but they were horrified when they learned what he had done.
@Jp Murray: you’re speaking rubbish.. Seán Quinn gambled with people’s insurance premiums and lost. Now we’re all paying for his gambling. He belongs behind bars. You sound like a sneaking regarded for these murderous thugs. You should be ashamed of yourself
@Jp Murray: he should still be in prison for gambling with the insurance premiums. You sound like a sneaking regarder of these murderous thugs.
This is too little to late front the head honcho. People are so involved in this now they will not have the desire to pull back .
Not before time ,too little too late for Mr Lummey and his family.
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