United States: About three men were charged with crime and fraud in a scheme involving a company that was worth $100 million in the stock market in spite of having only a small-town New Jersey deli to its name, as per the federal authorities.
On Monday, the men, James Patten-63-year-old of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, such as Peter Coker Jr., of Hong Kong, were charged with 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud as well as conspiracy to manipulate securities prices.
Patten, as well as Coker Sr., were detained as well as appeared in a North Carolina court on Monday. They are expected to appear in New Jersey federal court at a later date. Coker Jr. is still at large.
Moreover, Federal prosecutors mentioned in the statement Pattern are also charged with four counts of manipulation of securities, four counts of wire fraud, as well as a count of money laundering.
The men were also accused of market manipulation by the United States Securities as well as Exchange Commission. The SEC stated that its investigation is ongoing.
Coker Jr. was chairman of Hometown International, while Coker Sr. was a major shareholder. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey, there were no lawyers of record for the defendants as of Monday afternoon.
