Nathan Sparling, 35, of Glasgow, was head of HIV Scotland when he spent the unauthorised sums on Uber taxis and online transactions during a period of 33 months.
Prosecutors from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) showed he used £2000 from the charity on taxi journeys and another £3000 to buy groceries and technical goods from Amazon.
Sparling was made subject of a community payback order for £5,000 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to be made to a charity after admitting a charge of embezzlement between April 2019 and December 2021.
He was also ordered the carry out 100 hours of unpaid work to be completed within 18 months.
Faith Currie, Procurator Fiscal for Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders, said:
“Nathan Sparling committed an egregious breach of trust.
“He flagrantly took advantage of his position as a senior figure at HIV Scotland to embezzle public money from his employers.
“He showed no regard for the impact his crimes would have on those trying to run an important charity as well as those who depend upon its work.
“This case demonstrates that those who seek to exploit public funds for their own personal gain will be held fully to account for their crimes.
“Embezzlement is not a victimless crime. As prosecutors, we are fully committed to tackling financial crime of this kind when it is in the public interest and where there is evidence to do so.”
In his role as Chief Executive, Sparling was entitled to make authorised purchases up to the value of £50 using charity funds.
Any spending beyond that figure had to be referred to the Chair of the Board of Trustees for approval
Between April and June 2020 at the height of the Covid lockdown, the Chair of the Board noticed Sparling had submitted a number of expenses for taxi journeys.
In July 2020, she raised the issue of expenses with the accused who then made her aware he had been illegally using charity funds for his personal use.
He was suspended and a full investigation followed.
The matter was eventually reported to the police who subsequently examined the charity’s bank accounts and identified Sparling’s wrongdoing.