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A director of a law firm has impersonated a police officer in a brazen attempt to obtain CCTV footage of his ex-girlfriend while she was dining at Nando’s.
A UK law firm director has been found guilty of impersonating a police officer in an elaborate attempt to obtain CCTV footage of his former partner while she dined at a Nando’s restaurant.
In July last year, MAJ Law director Conor Johnstone orchestrated the deception by contacting staff at a Nando’s restaurant in England while posing as “PC Matt Gregory” from Cheshire Police, according to the Daily Mail.
During the exchange, Johnstone told staff he was investigating an alleged incident involving two diners and urgently requested access to CCTV footage from the previous day.
However, the court alleged that Johnstone’s true motive was not related to any investigation, but rather to obtain the footage to determine whether his former partner had been dining with another man.
Leeds Magistrates Court heard that Johnstone spoke with a Nando’s employee during the phone exchange, with the employee asking him to follow up via email because she was unable to assist him immediately.
The employee reportedly told the court that “everything seemed normal” during her interaction with Johnstone, adding that it was “believable that he was a police officer”.
Later that evening, the law firm director followed up with an email from the address “
The correspondence falsely portrayed him as a family liaison officer within the domestic violence unit and included a fabricated badge number and the Cheshire Constabulary crest in an apparent attempt to make the request appear legitimate.
However, the correspondence aroused suspicion among Nando’s staff, who contacted Cheshire Constabulary to verify its authenticity, only to discover that no officer by the name of PC Gregory existed.
Believing his deception had gone undetected, Johnstone continued to contact the Nando’s branch, repeatedly asking staff for the footage as they recorded the call.
Investigators ultimately traced the bogus request back to Johnstone.
Despite being confronted with evidence that unravelled the scheme, the solicitor denied impersonating a police officer and rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing.
During the trial, Johnstone denied attempting to use the fake police identity to spy on his former partner, instead claiming that she was responsible for the scheme.
However, the magistrates rejected his account and found him guilty of impersonating a police officer.
Johnstone is due to be sentenced next month.
