Peter Coker Sr. and his wife Susan Coker at U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, March 15, 2023.
Dan Mangan | CNBC
Peter Coker Jr., left, is issued search warrants from police at his villa on the southern resort island of Phuket, Thailand, Jan. 11, 2023.
Crime Suppression Division, Royal Thai Police | AP
A third defendant, James Patten, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with the company once known as Hometown International and another firm.
The Cokers and Patten each admitted their roles in the scheme to artificially boost the stock price of Hometown, whose only real business asset was the Your Hometown Deli in Paulsboro, as well as the shares of a shell company then-known as E-Waste.
Hometown’s stock price rose by more than 900% as a result of the scheme. The price of E-Waste rose by nearly 20,000%.
Coker Sr., an 82-year-old who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has been free on bond since his arrest in September 2022. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13.
The former Hong Kong resident Coker Jr., 56, has been held without bail since he was extradited from Thailand in March 2023. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 2.
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