Father and Son Plead Guilty in Market Manipulation Scheme Related to New Jersey Deli
In some surprising news out of Camden, New Jersey, a father and son have admitted to running a complicated securities fraud scheme that boosted the stock prices of two publicly traded companies. This scheme, which involved a New Jersey deli, was quite the elaborate one.
Peter Coker Sr., 82, from Chapel Hill, N.C., and his son, Peter Coker Jr., 56, previously from Hong Kong, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Another person involved, James Patten, 65, of Winston-Salem, N.C., had also entered a guilty plea to the same charges.
From the years 2014 to 2022, this group manipulated the stock prices of Hometown International Inc., a company linked to a Paulsboro, N.J., deli, and E-Waste Corp., both traded on the OTC Marketplace. The prosecutors claim that they artificially inflated the stock values by an astonishing 19,900 percent in one instance.
The defendants allegedly controlled the shares and management of these companies to position them for reverse mergers, enabling them to sell their inflated shares for profit. This created a false impression of market demand at the expense of market integrity, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
As a result of their actions, the Cokers are facing up to 25 years in prison and significant fines. The sentencing dates for Coker Jr. and Coker Sr. have been scheduled for April 2 and May 13, 2025, respectively.
These admissions have been a major development in a case that revolved around a deli with minimal annual sales but a market valuation that far exceeded its actual earnings. It’s a reminder of how crucial it is to uphold market integrity and trust in the financial system.
