An office manager who embezzled more than £900,000 from an Edinburgh property firm to fund a luxury lifestyle has been jailed for three years.

Emma Hunt, 37, 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 told her friends and colleagues that she owned a successful cleaning company that financed her lifestyle.

Instead, she was stealing the money from McLean Properties and some of the firm’s clients.

Hunt carried out her scheme by transferring rental payments from tenants into her own bank accounts and obtained deposits from tenants that were not required.

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She also regularly created false invoices totalling large sums for “supplies” and “business expenses” which were again paid into her personal accounts.

She was eventually caught after concerns emerged over company accounting activity.

Prosecutors showed that between May 2016 and January 2019, Hunt stole more than £900,000 from the business.

‘Fraud and embezzlement are not victimless crimes’

Hunt, from Coldstream in the Scottish Borders, was found guilty of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in June.

Lynne Barrie, Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “Fraud and embezzlement are not victimless crimes. This was a brazen example of targeting a business and its customers.

“Financial crime cases can be complex, but the evidence presented during the trial made the criminal activity clear and resulted in a conviction.

“This case demonstrates the ability of prosecutors to effectively prepare and prosecute crime of this nature and sends a strong message to others involved in this kind of criminal behaviour.”

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Hunt was sentenced to three years behind bars on Thursday and will be the subject of proceedings for a confiscation order under proceeds of crime legislation.

Detective Sergeant Drummond Fyall said: “Emma Hunt deceived her employers for almost three years and significantly abused their trust by stealing large sums of money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

“She clearly believed that her criminality would go undetected. However, following our investigation, she now faces the consequences of her actions.”

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