N.J. deli inventory fraud defendant behind bars as feds reveal he renounced U.S. citizenship

NEWARK, N.J. – A former fugitive within the securities fraud case involving a New Jersey deli firm as soon as valued at $100 million renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2019, prosecutors revealed Thursday as they requested a decide to disclaim him bail.

Peter Coker Jr. “poses a severe danger of flight, and … there are not any circumstances or mixture thereof that may guarantee his look at future proceedings,” mentioned the letter by the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace to federal Justice of the Peace Choose Edward Kiel.

In the identical letter, prosecutors mentioned Coker Jr. had “stood to make tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars}” from a hoped-for reverse merger of the deli firm, which the aim of the “advanced, long-term fraud’ spanning not less than seven years that grossly inflated its inventory value.

“And the one purpose that the Defendant and his co-conspirators have been unable to realize their final goal of getting into right into a reverse merger, which might have allowed for a large payout, was due to damaging information articles that uncovered their fraud,” the letter to Kiel mentioned.

CNBC in 2021 printed a number of dozen articles that uncovered eyebrow-raising consulting agreements, troubled authorized histories, and different points associated to individuals related to the deli firm.

In their very own submitting Thursday, Coker Jr.’s protection mentioned the Hong Kong businessman relinquished American citizenship “primarily for financial causes and in recognition of his private {and professional} life.”

Coker Jr., who was extradited from Thailand final week and saved in jail since then, was scheduled to look in Newark federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon for a detention listening to within the case, the place his father Peter Coker Sr. and a 3rd man are also charged.

However he was by no means introduced from a holding space to the courtroom, the place his mother and father have been ready.

As an alternative, there was a two-hour delay within the begin of the listening to that ensued after the decide, a prosecutor and Coker Jr.’s protection attorneys for the primary time discovered that there’s a maintain on him from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement company.

Such a detainer is customary when a non-citizen is extradited to face felony prices within the U.S.

In the course of the delay, Coker Jr.’s attorneys met with him and talked to the prosecutor.

Kiel finally took the bench and commenced the listening to. Coker Jr.’s attorneys advised him advised the decide that they may search an lawyer to characterize him in reference to the ICE detainer.

The ICE maintain, which was lodged when Coker Jr. landed at JFK Worldwide Airport in New York final week, might preserve Coker Jr. in jail even when he’s granted bail within the felony case.

Of their letter in search of Coker Jr.’s detention, prosecutors cited his entry to funds abroad, his citizenship from one other nation, his three many years residing overseas in Hong Kong, and the 20-year most doable felony sentence he faces if convicted as causes to worry he’ll flee the costs.

“No proof is extra telling than a defendant’s personal phrases,” prosecutors wrote.

They cited Coker Jr.’s authorized assertion on June 5, 2019, saying, “Whereas I used to be born and raised within the U.S., I moved to Hong Kong in July, 1992 for profession causes and have established my roots and intensive social and household ties right here. I’ve no intention to return to reside or work within the U.S., and have due to this fact determined to resign my U.S. nationality.”

Attorneys for Coker Jr. at his arraignment final week argued he was keen to place up all the cash he has, about $four million, and his mother and father’ North Carolina dwelling as collateral to safe his launch on bond within the case.

Coker Jr., Coker Sr. and James Patten have been charged in an indictment on Sept. 26 with a scheme artificially increase the costs of publicly traded shares of Hometown Worldwide, and a associated shell firm, E-Waste, to extend their attractiveness as merger companions for personal corporations.

Whereas the elder Coker and Patten have been arrested in North Carolina after which launched on bonds of $100,000 every, Coker Jr. was a fugitive for months earlier than being discovered and arrested in a resort space of Thailand by police there in January.

Coker Jr. had traveled there on a passport from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis, the place he has citizenship.

In their very own letter to Kiel on Thursday, Coker Jr.’s attorneys argued he remained in Phuket, Thailand, after studying of his indictment as a result of he was too sick to journey.

Coker Jr. claimed he was receiving medical consideration for cirrhosis of his liver and hypoxemia previous to his arrest.

“Mr. Coker’s look in the USA would have probably occurred sooner if not for severe well being points he confronted within the interval following the unsealing of the indictment in opposition to him,” his attorneys argued within the submitting.

“Mr. Coker prioritized in search of medical therapy in his area people of Thailand relatively than instantly surrendering to authorities and risking the chance that he could be transported by airplane to the USA in opposition to his physician’s recommendation.”

The indictment alleges that on account of the scheme, the inventory value of Hometown, which owned solely a small, money-losing store dubbed Your Hometown Deli, rose greater than 900% on account of the alleged scheme. E-Waste’s shares skyrocketed by nearly 20,000%. The deli, which served Italian subs and cheesesteaks in Paulsboro, a small New Jersey city throughout the Delaware River from Philadelphia, has since closed.

Each corporations publicly disavowed their huge market valuations after CNBC revealed authorized points surrounding individuals related to the businesses, together with Coker Sr.

The youthful Coker served for a while as Hometown Worldwide’s chairman.

Gabrielle Fonrouge reported from Newark and Dan Mangan reported from Englewood Cliffs, N.J.