A former detective turned private investigator has been given a third and final warning for misconduct after using a false persona to make defamatory allegations online.

Nick Mayer posted to Facebook using the persona and falsely claimed he was obtaining information for a client, making unsubstantiated and most likely false allegations, the Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority has found.

The authority has suppressed its substantive decision, made final suppression orders for the names of the complainants, the Facebook persona, Mayer’s relationship with the complainants and others named in the decision.

Mayer has acknowledged the penalty and says he will comply with the orders but has defended his actions.

“My conduct was found to have occurred outside the course of my business, which is why cancellation of my licence was never an available penalty,” he told NZME.

According to a recently released decision, it is the third complaint at least partly established against Mayer in the past three and a half years.

In February 2023, the authority found him guilty of unsatisfactory conduct after he called a woman and told her that her husband was having an affair.

In March 2024, Mayer was found to have engaged in misleading conduct, but no penalty was imposed as his actions were not found to be intentional.

Mayer was advised at the time that it was misleading to introduce himself as being registered with the Ministry of Justice and inappropriate to use the Ministry of Justice logo or banner on his website.

Misleading information

However, the authority found that while his conduct at the time was unintentional, he continued to include misinformation on his website.

Mayer was found guilty of misconduct in May, and a timetable was set for the parties to file submissions.

At that point, the authority noted that misconduct needed to be “in the course of the business to which the licence relates”.

Mayer’s misconduct was not in the course of his private investigations business, and cancellation of his licence was not an available penalty, the authority found.

However, Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority chairwoman Trish McConnell, in the decision, said amendments to the Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Act had removed the requirement for misconduct to be in the course of the business to which the licence or certificate relates for it to be a discretionary ground for cancelling a licence or certificate.

McConnell said his actions were part of ongoing investigative activity using his skills and position as a private investigator to investigate the complainants’ personal and financial activities.

The amendment wasn’t retrospective, so cancellation of his licence wasn’t an available penalty, according to the decision.

Mayer’s lawyer submitted he had already suffered substantial professional and personal consequences, saying the misconduct arose in a personal context, with no commercial benefit.

The complaints, investigation and prosecution unit recommended a three-month suspension order and a fine at the higher end, submitting Mayer’s conduct was deliberate, involved false and potentially defamatory assertions and “not an isolated lapse but part of wider investigative activity”.

‘No remorse’

The complainants submitted Mayer had taken no accountability for his actions, shown no remorse and not acknowledged the seriousness of his behaviour.

They considered there was a risk he would act similarly in the future, according to the decision.

McConnell said nothing in the written and oral submissions Mayer made throughout the investigation or to the authority suggested he accepted any wrongdoing or accountability for his actions, or demonstrated remorse.

“Even in his written apology he justified his actions by saying ‘I was led by my heart and not my brain’.”

“This, together with Mr Mayer’s apology for any pain the complainants have suffered, falls short of accepting responsibility for his actions or showing genuine remorse for what he has done.”

McConnell accepted Mayer has suffered emotional, professional, financial and personal costs as a result of his misconduct and the proceedings.

His New Zealand Institute of Private Investigators membership had been cancelled, and he had lost Motor Vehicle Registrar and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency access arrangements.

Some character referees expressed the view that his conduct was one-off, occurred in a fraught emotional context, and was not representative of his professional character, according to the decision.

‘It wasn’t one-off’

McConnell disagreed, saying it wasn’t a one-off act of making a defamatory social media post using a false persona but included Mayer’s ongoing actions of using his position and skills as a private investigator to investigate the complainants’ personal and financial activities.

Mayer was fined $500, ordered to complete an advanced primary course, complete tertiary-level legal or business ethics papers, and formally reprimanded.

McConnell warned Mayer that it was his final chance and if he didn’t complete training as ordered, his licence could be suspended.

“In addition, if Mr Mayer does not learn from the ordered training and is found guilty of misconduct again, his licence is likely to be suspended, or if his misconduct is serious, cancelled.”

Mayer told NZME: “I take my professional obligations seriously and will continue to focus on the standard of work I provide to clients.”