Emma Hunt took the massive amount of cash while working with Edinburgh property firm McLean Properties by arranging for tenants to pay their rents into her own bank account over a three-year period. Hunt, from Coldstream, Berwickshire, then used the stolen funds to live a lavish lifestyle, including splashing out on luxury holidays, top-class hotels and top-of-the-range cars. The office boss spent close to £40,000 on a Hallowe'en party at 16th-century Fenton Tower, near North Berwick, and paid out £3,000 for her birthday party at Musselburgh Racecourse.
Hunt, now aged 38, also spent thousands of pounds on hospitality packages at the Scottish Open golf tournament and a Scotland v England Six Nations rugby match at Murrayfield Stadium. : The crooked scheme was eventually uncovered after a tenant queried the payments they were making and bosses at McLean Properties began an investigation in 2019. Hunt denied embezzling the cash but was found guilty by a jury when she stood trial over five days at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last year and was sentenced to a three-year period of custody.
Hunt has now been told she must pay back a total of £211,574.67 following a proceeds of crime hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week. The confiscation order shows that Hunt is estimated to have benefited from criminal conduct by £925,000.
The figure is based on an amount which the court deems as being available. The Crown has the power to extend the order to seize money and assets Hunt acqui.