A former office manager who embezzled almost £1m from an Edinburgh property firm to fund a luxury lifestyle has been ordered to pay back more than £211,000.
Emma Hunt, 38, was jailed for three years last August after she was found guilty of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.
Hunt spent thousands of pounds on parties, hospitality at sporting events, hotel stays, a five-star Caribbean holiday, cars and designer goods.
She paid out more than £39,000 for 80 friends to enjoy a Halloween break at Fenton Tower, a castle in East Lothian.
She also spent thousands more on days out at the Scottish Open golf tournament, Musselburgh and Ayr races, and a Scotland rugby match against England at Murrayfield in 2018.
Hunt, from Coldstream in the Scottish Borders, told her friends and colleagues that she owned a successful cleaning company that financed her lifestyle, but was instead stealing the money from her employer McLean Properties and some of the firm’s clients.
Her illicit scheme – between May 2016 and January 2019 – was eventually discovered after concerns emerged over company accounting activity.
On Friday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, a confiscation order revealed Hunt benefitted from criminal conduct by £925,000 – which included tainted gifts valued at £199,733 to a family member.
She has now been ordered to pay back £211,574 under proceeds of crime legislation.
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The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the figure is based on an amount the court “deems as being available”.
The Crown has the power to seize any money or assets Hunt acquires in the future as part of efforts to repay the full amount she made from her crimes.
Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for serious casework at COPFS, said: “This confiscation underscores the fact that prosecution of those involved in financial crime does not stop at criminal conviction and sentencing.
“Even after that conviction was secured, the Crown pursued proceeds of crime action to ensure the funds Emma Hunt obtained illegally were confiscated.
“Confiscation orders have ongoing financial consequences, meaning we can seek to recover further assets from this individual in the future to ensure she pays back the full amount.”
Source Agencies
