Former Portsmouth Restaurant Owner Pleads Guilty To Credit And Debit Card Fraud

CONCORD, N.H. – Former Portsmouth, N.H., restaurateur Brian Pearson, 30, pleaded guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to wire fraud, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

Pearson acknowledged that, from approximately January 2011 to May 23, 2011, he processed more than 1400 unauthorized credit and debit fraud transactions against the accounts of individuals who had previously dined at his now defunct Portsmouth restaurant, Bella Sol.  Pearson obtained the credit and debit card numbers from the hard drive of his restaurant’s point-of-sale system where they were stored.  Pearson was a resident of Chocorua, N.H., until he was arrested on charges relating to the credit and debit card fraud.

Pearson is facing a maximum prison sentence of twenty years and a fine of $250,000.  Pearson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, 2013 and has been detained pending sentencing.

This case arose from an investigation jointly undertaken by the U.S. Secret Service and the Portsmouth Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.