Detroit — A 69-year-old man has acknowledged he wasn’t selling “the real thing” to restaurants.

Authorities say Cecil Donald St. Pierre of Warren, Mich., was offering a generic syrup in 2006 and 2007 for use in fountain drink dispensers, but labeling it as Coca-Cola. He pleaded guilty Wednesday in Detroit federal court to trafficking in counterfeit goods.

St. Pierre faces a maximum of six months in prison under a plea agreement with prosecutors. Under the deal, he agrees to stop selling soft drink syrup for five years. Sentencing is set for Jan. 28.

St. Pierre has said restaurant operators who bought his generic syrup knew it wasn’t Coca-Cola. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Weier says that doesn’t matter, since restaurant customers likely were fooled.