Peter Coker Sr., NC Businessman Behind $100M Deli Stock Fraud, Gets 6-Month Sentence
Peter Coker Sr., an 82-year-old businessman from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was sentenced Tuesday to six months in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a stock manipulation scheme involving a $100 million New Jersey deli company and a shell corporation.
Following his prison term, Coker Sr. will serve six months under home confinement. He has also been ordered to pay a $500,000 fine and restitution that could total up to $644,000.
Visibly emotional during the sentencing hearing in Camden, New Jersey, Coker Sr. expressed deep regret for his actions as family members watched. “I am truly remorseful,” he told the court. “This has been the worst period of my life. I apologize to every investor harmed by my conduct.”
Federal guidelines recommended a sentence of 51 to 63 months, but prosecutors requested a more lenient term — at the higher end of a 0 to 24-month range — as agreed in Coker’s plea deal.
Coker Sr., his son Peter Coker Jr., and associate James Patten admitted to orchestrating a fraudulent plan to artificially inflate the market value of Hometown International, the deli-owning company, and E-Waste, another publicly traded firm with no active business operations. The intent was to position the companies as appealing merger candidates.
Despite Hometown International owning just a single unprofitable sandwich shop in South Jersey, and E-Waste being a shell with no business, both companies reached valuations exceeding $100 million during the scheme.
U.S. District Judge Christine O’Hearn condemned the operation as a deliberate, sophisticated fraud, saying the companies were “essentially worthless” and that the defendants’ actions had significant consequences. She noted that the scheme led to nearly $5 million in losses, with major institutions like Duke and Vanderbilt among those impacted.
“Greed appears to be the only clear motivation,” O’Hearn remarked, questioning why already wealthy individuals would engage in such deception. Coker Sr.’s net worth is approximately $6 million.
The judge denied the defense’s request for no prison time, despite their appeals to Coker’s age, health, and remorse. Defense attorney Zach Intrater portrayed Coker as a gentleman who had accepted responsibility and emphasized the emotional toll of seeing his only son jailed as a result of their shared actions. Coker’s wife of 61 years, Susan, tearfully pleaded for leniency, describing him as a good man who deeply regrets his involvement.
Peter Coker Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced later the same day. He was extradited from Thailand last year and remains in custody. He faces deportation after serving his sentence, having renounced his U.S. citizenship in favor of St. Kitts in 2019.
James Patten will be sentenced on June 10. Patten, who has a history of securities violations and fraud, was instrumental in launching Hometown International, convincing a high school principal to serve as its figurehead CEO without revealing the underlying scheme.
The fraud, which ran from 2014 through late 2022, relied on coordinated trading to inflate share prices and create the illusion of demand. Hometown’s stock price jumped more than 900%, while E-Waste soared nearly 20,000%.
The scheme drew national attention in April 2021, when hedge fund manager David Einhorn sarcastically questioned Hometown’s $100 million valuation, pointing out that the deli’s revenue had been under $36,000 over two years. “The pastrami must be amazing,” he quipped.
Intrater argued the case gained traction largely because of Einhorn’s public comments, which brought media scrutiny and intensified legal focus.
The SEC and federal prosecutors later uncovered a web of misleading financial practices, undisclosed consulting agreements, and prior legal issues involving the defendants, ultimately leading to the trio’s indictment.
