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Fairmount bar owner admits to $87K in fraudulent credit card charges

Michael Hoffner Sr., owner of the Brown Street Pub at 795 N. 24th St., pleaded guilty to 40 counts of wire fraud, telling a federal judge that he made the charges between September and December 2012 knowing that the cards used had been re-encoded with stolen credit card information.

The Brown Street Pub at 795 N. 24th St.
The Brown Street Pub at 795 N. 24th St.Read moreCourtesy Photo

A Fairmount bar owner admitted Monday that he processed more than $87,000 in credit card transactions he knew were fraudulent.

Michael Hoffner Sr., owner of the Brown Street Pub at 795 N. 24th St., pleaded guilty to 40 counts of wire fraud, telling a federal judge he made the charges between September and December 2012 knowing the cards used had been reencoded with stolen credit card information.

Prosecutors said Hoffner, 52, of Voorhees, had been warned by at least two credit card companies of the high number of disputed charges at his bar, but he  maintained that the tabs he charged had been legally incurred by the rightful card holders for parties hosted at his bar.

Hoffner's plea came the same day jury selection was scheduled to begin for trial before U.S. District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hoffner could face a sentence of more than three years in prison.