'The Worst Time of My Life': $100 Million Deli Fraudster Sentenced to Prison North Carolina businessman Peter Coker Sr. faces prison time and massive fines for his part in a scheme to defraud investors.
By David James
This deli made too much bread not to attract attention.
In September of 2023, North Carolina businessman Peter L. Coker Sr., his son Peter Coker Jr., and a third accomplice, James T. Patten, pled guilty to securities fraud in a scheme that falsely valued their single-location New Jersey-based Hometown Deli at $100 million.
The Cokers and Patten artificially inflated the price of two companies, Hometown International, which owned the deli, and E-Waste, to make them more appealing to private firms. It was later revealed that Hometown only owned one money-losing deli, and E-Waste was not operating in any capacity.
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Today, Coker Sr., 82, was sentenced Tuesday to six months in prison and ordered to serve six months of home confinement after his release. He will also be required to pay a $500,000 fine and up to $644,000 in restitution, reports CNBC.
"I'm terribly sorry for my part," Coker Sr. said at his sentencing. "This episode has been the worst time of my life."
"I'm sorry for every investor harmed by my actions," he added.
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Coker Jr. and Patten's sentencing will follow. After his initial arrest in 2022, Coker Jr. went on the run and was found hiding in a hotel room in Thailand's Phuket province. He will face deportation after he serves his sentence, per CNBC.
"This was a fraudulent scheme from the inception," Judge Christine O'Hearn said at the start of the hearing. She labeled the companies worthless and said she "learned more than I ever care to" about their fraudulent operations.
