If you spent more for a premium-brand liquor at She-Nannigans toward the end of February, you might not have drank what you thought, according to state investigators.

Dominique J. Navarro, 3234 Potter Road, is charged with illegally filling 16 bottles of premium liquor with cheaper versions of that liquor.

Special agents from the Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement Section of the Department of Revenue inspected She-Nannigans, 415 Water St., on Feb. 27 while Navarro still owned the bar.

Agents reported they also found 123 bottles of liquor that were obtained illegally from Houligans, 415 S. Barstow St., which was formerly owned by Navarro’s brother Rob.

Houligans and She-Nannigans are now under new owners who have nothing to do with the allegations.

Bar owners are required to purchase liquor from licensed wholesalers, said Roger Engen, one of the special agents investigating the charges against Navarro.

Invoices for liquor purchases are required to be kept on the premises, he said, and the products at the bar didn’t match the invoices there.

“The consumer has been bilked,” Engen said.

Engen compared this violation to having a car but no title for the car, or adding water to milk.

According to the criminal complaint, Navarro, 27, used a pouring spout to refill bottles of Jose Cuervo tequila, Tanqueray gin, Absolute vodka and Jack Daniel’s whiskey with cheaper forms of the liquors to make more money selling the drinks.

Sometimes the bottles were filled half with the liquor on the bottle and half with the cheaper substitute, and sometimes the whole bottle was refilled completely with the substitute, as stated in the complaint.

Navarro denies the charges and said he will plead not guilty.

“Everything is just ridiculous what I’m going through,” Navarro said.

He declined to comment further on the charges on the advice of his attorney.

“I haven’t admitted to anything,” Navarro said.

Investigators don’t know how long they suspect Navarro substituted alcohol, and Engen could not comment on how his department came to suspect Navarro of these practices. Because of these allegations, Navarro also has been charged with violating the terms of his bail stemming from an incident last fall.

Navarro is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman after she passed out at She-Nannigans on Sept. 29. He was released on a signature bond on the condition he does not commit a new crime. His trial for the alleged assault is scheduled to begin June 3.

The liquor violation allegations violate the terms of that agreement, so Navarro was charged with two felony charges of bail jumping. Each of the 16 charges of refilling the liquor carries a potential penalty of a fine ranging from $150 to $500 or between 60 days and six months in prison.

Navarro is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday to answer to the liquor violation charges.