A lawyer accused of making off with $483,000 worth of clients’ money said that he was being extorted by gangsters.

Tyrone Quinn, 37, said that several individuals threatened him and his family with death unless he compensated them for a botched illegal transaction.

He added: “Those who know me know how much these investigations have been on my mind and how sick I am to be here.

“Not only because I have to stand here in front of a judge and 12 jury members, but to hear the pain of the witnesses.

“I told myself there was no way, after going through this ordeal, that I’d leave them high and dry.”

Mr Quinn has denied three counts of theft after he allegedly failed to hand over compensation payments awarded to three of his clients.

On the witness stand yesterday, he told the Supreme Court that two men approached him at his home in 2019 over a “problem” they charged him with correcting.

Mr Quinn said that, at the time, he did not know these men or the problem they referred to, but “they did not care” and insisted he “make it right”.

He added that they threatened his life that night and, later, the lives of his family members until he gave in to their demands for cash.

Mr Quinn said that several men would post themselves outside his house, and once he even had a gun pulled on him.

He added that his extortioners would send him threatening messages and pictures of his family and their homes alongside threats to harm them.

Mr Quinn, who was a real estate lawyer at the time, said that he later learnt the men wanted to buy property using cash from ill-gotten means.

A consultant of Mr Quinn’s real estate firm mentioned him to the men, and since then they targeted him after the deal fell through.

He told the court that he immediately cut ties with this consultant after discovering his association with these men.

Mr Quinn also admitted sending money from his firm to the men in increments, explaining that he thought they would demand only a one-time sum of cash.

However, they continued to extort him for years, demanding more than he expected.

Mr Quinn said: “I was no longer myself. Anyone who called me with a problem I would try to resolve as quickly as possible through my firm.

“It is my sincere apology that these things have happened.”

He added: “At no material time were those funds used for any excursions, pleasure or vacations.

“If it was my intention to get one over these people, I would have left the island — but I stayed. I stayed because I wanted to make amends.”

Mr Quinn was eventually approached by police in 2021, which he believed would be a relief from his “nightmare”.

He explained that he believed his tormentors would leave him alone once word got out about his charges because, he believed, they would fear he would talk.

Despite this, Mr Quinn refused to name the men to police and even in court for fear that they could still target him and his family.

Alan Richards, for the Crown, suggested there were inconsistencies in his story.

He questioned why Mr Quinn did not call the police after these men showed up at his house and threatened his life.

He also questioned why he refused to share even the nicknames of his tormentors with police or the court, even if the judge cleared the gallery and placed a reporting ban on their names.

Mr Richards suggested that these extortioners were a fabricated story.

Mr Quinn insisted his suffering was real, adding: “I would not come here with tears in my eyes in front of the judge, the jury and others in the gallery if it wasn’t.”

He also said that he did not want to speak for the sake of his family’s safety.

The trial continues.

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