CAMDEN, N.J. — The father and son behind the bizarre $100 million stock fraud involving a tiny New Jersey deli have been sentenced for their roles in the years-long scheme.
Peter Coker Jr., 56, received a 40-month prison sentence in federal court Tuesday. With credit for time served in U.S. and Thai custody, he is expected to serve about 12 more months—possibly less with good behavior. His sentencing follows his arrest and brutal assault in a Thai prison while awaiting extradition to the United States in early 2023.
Coker Jr.’s attorney, John Azzarello, argued for leniency due to the inhumane conditions his client faced abroad and his deteriorating health, including advanced liver disease caused by alcohol abuse. “This crime has changed me profoundly,” Coker Jr. told Judge Christine O’Hearn in U.S. District Court. “My greed destroyed us both,” he added, referring to his father.
His father, Peter Coker Sr., 82, a North Carolina businessman, was sentenced earlier the same day to six months in jail, followed by six months of home confinement. He was also ordered to pay $500,000 in fines and up to $644,000 in restitution.
The Cokers, along with accomplice James Patten, admitted to manipulating the stock prices of two publicly traded shell companies—Hometown International, which owned only a loss-making deli in South Jersey, and E-Waste, a company with no real operations. At one point, Hometown International had a market cap exceeding $100 million, despite generating minimal revenue.
Coker Jr., who renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2019 and is now a citizen of St. Kitts, faces deportation after completing his sentence.
Judge O’Hearn called the case “a fraudulent scheme from the inception,” and said she would have imposed a harsher sentence on Coker Sr. if not for his advanced age.
The scheme drew national attention for the absurdity of its centerpiece—a humble New Jersey deli valued like a tech unicorn—and highlighted vulnerabilities in penny stock markets.
