Tricked by some shady character (3)
I believe the answer is:
had
'tricked' is the definition.
(to have someone can mean to trick them)
'some shady character' is the wordplay.
'some' says the answer is hidden in the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'HAD' is hidden in the letters of 'shady character'.
'by' is the link.
(Other definitions for had that I've seen before include "Did trick" , "kept" , "Was in possession of" , "Taken in" , "Owned in the past" .)