Fugitive wanted for $100M New Jersey deli fraud scheme arrested in Thailand

A fugitive charged over an alleged market manipulation scheme wherein a small New Jersey deli mysteriously drew a $100 million valuation was arrested final week in Thailand, the feds confirmed Thursday.

Peter Coker Jr., 54, had been on the lam since final September, when prosecutors slapped him, his father Peter Coker Sr., 80, and affiliate James Patten, 63, with 12 federal expenses.

The trio allegedly boosted the share costs of Hometown Worldwide Inc. and one other agency, E-Waste Corp.

When reached by The Submit, Matthew Reilly, a spokesperson for the New Jersey US Lawyer’s workplace, confirmed that Coker Jr. was arrested on Jan. 11. The workplace declined additional touch upon the scenario.

Coker Jr. was arrested final week at a resort close to Surin Seashore within the Phuket province of Thailand, The Bangkok Submit reported, citing native officers. Interpol had issued a crimson discover calling for his arrest.

Hometown Worldwide raised eyebrows after it drew a nine-figure valuation despite the fact that its solely asset was “Your Hometown Deli” in Paulsboro. The feds allege that Coker Jr. and his co-conspirators managed to “artificially” inflate the corporate’s inventory by 939%.

Patten and Coker Sr. had been arrested in September, when the Justice Division first introduced the costs, which embody conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to control securities costs. Patten was slapped with further expenses, together with cash laundering and wire fraud.

Prosecutors stated the trio used faux trades to create the impression that shares of the 2 companies had been scorching with traders.

“From 2014 via September 2022, Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr. conspired to counterpoint themselves via a scheme to control securities costs by way of a sample of coordinated buying and selling, which injected inaccurate info into {the marketplace}, creating false impressions of provide and demand for these securities,” the feds stated in a press release on the time.

The unusual scenario was first famous in April 2021 by famed short-seller David Einhorn, who flagged Hometown’s large valuation for instance of regulatory failings in a letter to his purchasers.

Within the letter, Einhorn identified that the corporate and its lone deli had generated simply $13,976 in gross sales the earlier yr.

“The pastrami have to be wonderful,” Einhorn wrote. “Small traders who get sucked into these conditions are more likely to be harmed ultimately, but the regulators — who’re presupposed to be defending traders — look like neither current nor curious.”