Woman splashed £40k on Halloween party after stealing £900k from bosses
A disgraced office manager syphoned £900,000 of company money from her bosses - and lived a life of luxury.
Emma Hunt pilfered the huge sums from McLean Properties, a large Edinburgh-based firm, to spend on holidays, cars, parties, and sporting events. Rent payments were diverted into accounts which Hunt controlled, transforming her £1,800 per month salary, according to the Daily Record.
With her newfound riches, she spent £12,000 on a marquee for an almost £40,000 Halloween party in an East Lothian 16th century castle. Hunt, 37, took friends to VIP days at the Six Nations, the Scottish Open golf championship and Musselburgh Racecourse.
A weekend trip to Dublin cost Hunt £6,590 - likely pocket-change compared to the five-star, all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean to which she treated her mum.
One source described her as a “fantasist” but “very clever”. They said: “The way she was able to keep this fraud from being discovered for such a long time shows she knew what she was doing.”
Think twice before ordering drinks on tab - it could put your money at risk
Hunt’s comeuppance came after a tenant questioned the payments, before her bosses at McLean discovered what she was up to. She went on trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, and denied all the offences.
The court heard Hunt’s theft started soon after she joined as an office manager in 2016. She booked a birthday trip for 19 friends at Musselburgh Racecourse that same year for £3,000 - the £40,000 Halloween bash took place two years later in 2018.
Fiscal depute Connor Muir detailed Hunt’s lavish spendings in court, which also included £19,500 for a new Audi S1 Quattro, and £35,000 for the BMW M2 which she traded in for the Audi.
McLean Properties, controlled by the Crolla family, had been concerned that money was going missing for months before Hunt was caught - but due to her role in controlling financial paperwork, Hunt was able to cover her tracks.
Hunt had been giving personal bank account details to tenants for their rent payments, and took deposits from student tenants, who under company policy were not meant to pay this fee.
Another trick involved arranging new payments for old invoices which were already settled - she would contact the firm who received the cash, say it was a mistake and have them repay the sum into her own account.
But when one suspicious renter contacted McLean Properties to say they’d been asked to change which account they made rent payments to, it was all over for Hunt. After an investigation by bosses, they unearthed her suspicious financial dealings, sacked her and called in the police.
Hunt gave bizarre pieces of evidence in court, stating she was authorised to take the cash as “hush money”, and that a boss at the firm had asked her to draw up false leases for “ tesco workers” when the properties were actually being used by sex workers.
The jury ignored her, finding her guilty last month. She was convicted of embezzling £899,164.77 from 2016 to 2019. She was also convicted of fraud, for telling 11 renters to pay deposits when they did not need to.
Sheriff John Mundy deferred sentence for reports.
O2 issues warning over phone call and text that could drain your bank account
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
