FORMER SOLICITOR MICHAEL Lynn, who was found guilty of stealing just over €18 million from six financial institutions during the Celtic Tiger era, has been jailed for five and a half years.

Sentencing Lynn today, Judge Martin Nolan set a sentence of 13 years and gave Lynn seven-and-a-half years credit for the time he spent in prison in Brazil.

Judge Nolan accepted that the time Lynn spent in prison in Brazil was “onerous” but he noted: “To some degree he could have resolved his difficulties by agreeing to come home.”

Lynn and his wife Brid Murphy, who was in court for the sentence, made no visible reaction when the sentence was handed down.

Lynn (55) was found guilty by a jury of 10 of the 21 counts against him following a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial last year.

The jury was unable to agree on the remaining 11 counts before the court.

It was the second trial in the case after the jury in his first trial, which ran for 16 weeks in 2022, was unable to agree on any verdicts.

Lynn, of Millbrook Court, Redcross, Co Wicklow had pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of theft in Dublin between 23 October 2006 and 20 April 2007, when he was working as a solicitor and property developer.

He has no previous convictions and has been in custody since he was convicted of the 10 counts just before Christmas.

The court heard Lynn obtained multiple mortgages on the same properties in a situation where banks were unaware that other institutions were also providing finance. These properties included ‘Glenlion’, Lynn’s €5.5 million home in Howth, and multiple investment properties.

The financial institutions Lynn was found guilty of stealing from were National Irish Bank, Irish Life and Permanent, Ulster Bank, ACC Bank, Bank of Scotland Ireland and Irish Nationwide Building Society.

Lynn took the stand and told his trial that the banks were aware he had multiple loans on the same properties and that this was custom and practice among bankers in Celtic Tiger Ireland.

‘Hellhole’

He was extradited from Brazil in 2018 after spending four and a half years in a “hellhole” prison there. In the first trial, Lynn told the jury the jail was essentially run by prisoners and he witnessed the beheading of a young gay prisoner.

As part of the extradition agreement with Brazil, Lynn asked to be given credit for the prison time he has already served.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the single count relating to Bank of Ireland which alleged Lynn stole €2.7 million from that bank.

It was also unable to reach verdicts on 10 counts relation to Irish Nationwide, from which Lynn was accused of stealing €7.4 million. He was convicted on a single count of stealing €508,000 from that institution.

In relation to Irish Nationwide, Lynn claimed he signed a “memo of understanding” with bank chief Michael Fingleton in a Dublin hotel in 2006.

He said the agreement involved Irish Nationwide providing funding for Lynn’s apartment development in Portugal, with Fingleton set to benefit personally from this arrangement. 

Fingleton was not well enough to give evidence at trial, the jury was told.

The remaining charges against Lynn were dropped today.

Sentencing

Sentencing Lynn, Judge Nolan accepted that he was a person who had many good points, saying he had no doubt he was “energetic”, “very intelligent” and “accomplished”.

He said he believed Lynn was capable of reform and of contributing to this country and society “in due course”.

But he said the amount of money stolen was serious and Lynn had brought solicitors into “professional disrepute”.

“Mr Lynn acted in total disregard in relation to his obligations as a solicitor to be honest and straightforward and he disregarded the interests of the people he was working with,” Judge Nolan said.

He noted Lynn’s account of having prior agreements with the banks in relation to the loan monies was disbelieved by the jury.

The judge backdated the five-and-a-half year sentence to 20 December last, when Lynn went into custody.

After the sentence was handed down, the court heard an application will be made for the confiscation of assets pertaining to Lynn, in the form of “real properties and bank accounts”.

This matter was set down for mention on 16 April.

In his plea of mitigation to the court, Paul Comiskey O’Keeffe BL, defending, said Lynn had suffered mental trauma as a result of his prolonged period in a Brazilian prison.

A number of medical reports were handed into court which outlined how Lynn suffered from PTSD as a result of his incarceration in “deplorable” conditions and that he witnessed a decapitation and daily violence.

His current imprisonment has had a triggering effect on his mental health, the court heard.

A medical report found that Lynn developed a skin carcinoma as a result of being exposed to direct sunlight in prison and is now more susceptible to a similar type of cancer, as well as more malignant forms, counsel said.

The court heard Lynn has chronic asthma and suffered 11 bouts of pneumonia in a five-year period. 

His experience in Brazil “will affect his overall life expectancy,” Comiskey O’Keeffe said. 

Defence counsel handed in a number of testimonials including from Lynn’s wife, Brid Murphy, outlining the effect Lynn’s incarceration has had on his family and his children.

The court heard an acquaintance of Lynn – an English businessman – had agreed to give Lynn a job. Lynn has no previous convictions. 

Outlining the prosecution case against Lynn, Karl Finnegan SC said the total amount stolen by Lynn amounted to €18,144,385.

He outlined how Lynn took out multiple bank loans for the same properties, including three loans to fund his multi-million home, Glenlion, in the space of 15 days. 

The court heard the two trials spanned a combined total of 89 days and that Lynn spent 1,645 days in prison in Brazil and a further 105 days in custody in Ireland upon his extradition and before he was granted bail. 

The prosecution asserted that Lynn could have ended his Brazilian incarceration “with a stroke of a pen”, a submission that was disputed by his defence, who said it would have taken a number of months.

Comiskey O’Keeffe also asserted that while the total sum stolen by Lynn amounted to €18 million, the total loss to the banks was unknown, with some registering the first legal charge in the loan and others having insurance policies.

Judge Nolan ruled that the total loss to the banks was probably in the region of €13 million.