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 acquires in the future to pay back the full amount she made from her crimes. The court’s assessment of the 'available amount' acknowledges that Hunt made tainted gifts valued at £199,733.
31 to a family member. Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for serious casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, 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.”.
