Restaurant Consultant Allegedly Handed Out Fake 'A' Grades

The Health Department probably isn't happy about this; Gothamist reports that restaurant consultant Anastasios Kountis is being charged with forgery, tampering with public records, and grand larceny after giving restaurant owners photocopied "A" grades, instead of real grades.

New York City's Department of Investigation is looking into Kountis, behind Rapid Consulting, who restaurant owners paid to represent them in appeals for health inspections. Unfortunately, the DOI claims that Kountis never showed up to their appeals, instead photocopying a letter "A" card from Red Mist and giving them out to places like Panini Grill on Staten Island or Telly's Taverna, instead of a C grade and a B grade, respectively.

The restaurateurs reportedly had no idea, showing investigators text messages from Kountis that claim these were legitimate grades; Kountis reportedly installed an "A" grade himself, prosecutors claim.

Naturally, Kountis is denying all these allegations, saying Rapid Consulting halted business operations last year. His side of the story? A former employee stole his identity and is running around giving restaurants the fake "A" grades.