A crooked office manager who stole over £900,000 from her bosses to fund a luxury lifestyle has been jailed for three years.
Emma Hunt, 37, conned a large Edinburgh property firm out of a fortune by pilfering rent payments made by tenants. She lavished the cash on holidays, cars and even a £40,000 Halloween party for pals in a castle.
Hunt, who was found guilty by a jury, appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Thursday after sentencing was deferred for reports.
Advocate Charles Ferguson, defending Hunt, said she now admitted she carried out the crimes. Hunt lavished stolen funds on VIP treatment at sporting events.
Mr Ferguson said his client was trying to “buy friendships” with her generosity and “impress” her brother.
He said Hunt “did not start with the intention of stealing that amount” but “got caught up living in this fantasy” and “now realises that was wrong”.
Mr Ferguson said “none” of the people who Hunt treated to lavish VIP treatment were her pals anymore and she was “terrified” of going to prison.
The advocate said Hunt had struggled to make friends when she was younger and sometimes felt an “outsider”. He said Hunt had an otherwise “excellent work record” and was currently employed as a supervisor with a cleaning firm.
Sheriff John Mundy said it was in Hunt’s favour that she had admitted her guilt, but said a custodial sentence was the “only option”.
After being jailed for three years, Hunt mouthed “love you” at her weeping mother sitting in court as she was led down to the cells.
During her trial, the jury heard how rents being paid into McLean Properties were being diverted straight into bank accounts controlled by Hunt, allowing her to live like a millionaire despite having a salary of £1800 per month.
She used the ill-gotten gains to go on a spending spree on luxury holidays, high-end hotels and pricey cars.
Emma Hunt’s Extravagant Shopping List
- £39,244 on a Halloween bash for around 80 people at the 16th century Fenton Tower, near North Berwick.
- £3000 Birthday party for herself and 19 others at Musselburgh Racecourse.
- £12,960 for hospitality at two Ladies Days at Musselburgh.
- £3,600 for Scottish Open hospitality packages for 12 pals.
- £7180 was spent at Murrayfield Stadium for hospitality packages for 10 people at the Scotland v England Six Nations clash.
- £23,219 on accommodation around Edinburgh at a string of top-class hotels, including the principal and the five-star Caledonian.
- £7944 Caribbean trip with her mum.
- £1674 on flights for a weekend trip to Dublin, paying for accommodation at the plush Westbury Hotel.
- £19,500 for a new Audi S1 Quattro which she traded in for a BMW M2.
- £6730.05 at the Louis Vuitton fashion house.
- £91,596 in 45 separate transactions to her brother’s farming contracting business.
Hunt threw a costumed bash for Halloween at a 16th century castle in East Lothian where the marquee cost alone hit more than £12,000 and the total price tag was almost £40,000.
Friends and family were treated to extravagant VIP days out at Six Nations rugby matches, Musselburgh Racecourse, and the Scottish Open golf championship. Hunt took her mum to a five-star all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean and enjoyed a weekend trip to Dublin where she shelled out £6590.
But her scheme came crashing down after a tenant queried the payments and her crimes were finally uncovered by bosses.
Hunt went on trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after denying the offences and spun a web of lies when she gave evidence.
The fraudster made outrageous claims that a boss at the property firm, now deceased, allowed her to spend the cash to buy her silence. Hunt told jurors the gaffer was putting up prostitutes in flats – but the jury rejected her claims and found her guilty of stealing more than £900,000. The crook told pals she raked in huge sums from running her own cleaning business.
The court was told Hunt’s crimes started shortly after she started working as an office manager at McLean Properties in 2016.
Fiscal depute Connor Muir read a joint minute of agreed facts to the jury which detailed Hunt’s wild splurges.
Hunt spent £39,244 on a Halloween bash in 2018 for around 80 people at the 16th century Fenton Tower, near North Berwick. In 2016, she booked a birthday party for herself and 19 others at Musselburgh Racecourse in East Lothian for £3000.
Hunt later snapped up hospitality for Ladies Day at the same racecourse for 20 people in both 2017 and 2018, paying £6360 and £6600 respectively. In 2018 she bankrolled hospitality packages for 12 pals at the Scottish Open at £300 per person.
A further £7180 was spent at Murrayfield Stadium for hospitality packages for 10 people at the Scotland v England Six Nations clash.
The prosecutor told how she spent at least £23,219 on accommodation around Edinburgh at a string of top-class hotels, such as the swanky Principal and the five star Caledonian, between 2016 and 2019.
Mr Muir detailed holidays that Hunt lavished on herself, including the Caribbean trip with her mum between December 31, 2018, and January 10, 2019, which cost £7944. She spent £1674 on flights for a weekend trip to Dublin in 2018, paying for accommodation at the plush Westbury Hotel.
In 2016 Hunt paid £19,500 for a new Audi S1 Quattro which she traded in for a BMW M2. Hunt had to pay a further £35,000 for the BMW on top of trading in the Audi.
