Edinburgh Univerity worker's fake £14,000 claim for taxidermy work
An Edinburgh University worker tried to defraud the institution out of £14,000 by submitting a fictitious invoice for taxidermy services, a court heard.
Henry Emmanuel was employed as a payroll manager by the university when he carried out the offence.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard he put in a false claim for £14,000 - then tried to have it rushed through.
Emmanuel was given a community payback order with 200 hours unpaid work, and was told his conduct was "disgraceful".
The court heard that the payroll manager created a false invoice for stuffing and mounting dead animals on 3 August 2015 and said there would be a complaint if it was not paid.
Fiscal depute Alex Piper told the court that the university investigated and Emmanuel eventually admitted what he had done.
'Money for nothing'
Miss Piper said Emmanuel, 37, of Bathgate, West Lothian, claimed he had only put forward the fictitious invoice to highlight a fault in the university's payroll system.
Sheriff William Taylor QC imposed a community payback order with 200 hours unpaid work in the community.
He said: "The reason was greed. He thought he could get money for nothing.
"I thought seriously about sending you to prison. For this kind of disgraceful conduct you deserve to be punished".