NYC Department of Investigation arrested Hector Collet for allegedly extorting money from small business by making them believe that he was a City inspector conducting inspections. According to the Complaint, Collet informed small business owners that he was working for the City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and offered them “help” in “inspection preparation”.
According to the Manhattan DA Office, Collet approached three Manhattan establishments, a deli and two nail salons and announced himself as a DOHMH subcontractor who was conducting “pre-inspections” for the agency. He then produced an ID card and a fake letter purportedly issued by DOHMH that affirmed that Collet was employed by DOHMH subcontractor. According to the charges, Collet charged the owners between $60 and
$75 for the pre-inspections and gave them receipts. The name on the card was that of a legitimate employee who had lost his ID card a few months earlier.
Allegedly, Collet informed business owners that their business had issues that would be problematic during the DOHMH inspection but promised to arrange (for cash payments) extensions on inspections he said were upcoming.
Charges against Collet include Identity Theft in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, all class D felonies. He is also charged with Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony.