A “letter-grade expeditor” was arrested Wednesday evening for issuing nine fake grade cards to eateries throughout the city, the Department of Investigation announced.
The DOI charged Anastasios Kountis, who owns Rapid Consulting Inc., with a host of violations for handing out bogus grades.
Kountis, a 32-year-old Staten Island resident, represents restaurants appealing violations issued by the Health Department.
He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted on a slew of charges, including forgery, tampering with public records and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
DOI also arrested two workers at Masala Junction restaurant in Manhattan Tuesday on charges of trying to bribe an undercover investigator posing as a health inspector.
The employees — Dilbag Singh of Queens and Ahilia Narayan of New Jersey — face up to 11 years in jail.
“Using fraud and bribery to circumvent the city’s restaurant health code is not only criminal; it places the public at risk,” DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said.