Man Tied to $100 Million NJ Deli Scam Gets 21 Months in Prison

A twice-convicted felon who helped orchestrate a strategy to inflate the worth of a tiny New Jersey delicatessen to much than $100 cardinal was ordered to walk 21 months down bars.

James Patten, 67, was sentenced Tuesday by US District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn successful Camden, New Jersey, much than 2 years aft helium pleaded blameworthy to securities fraud and conspiracy successful the case.

Patten and 2 others were charged successful September 2022 with artificially inflating the terms of 2 companies done manipulative trading, including Hometown International Inc. That company’s lone plus was “Your Hometown Deli” successful Paulsboro, New Jersey, conscionable crossed the Delaware River from Philadelphia International Airport.

Hometown became infamous connected Wall Street erstwhile David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital highlighted the institution successful an April 2021 missive to investors arsenic an illustration of irrational exuberance successful the market. Einhorn noted that the deli hardly had income of $20,000 successful 2019 and adjacent little successful 2020 contempt reaching a nine-figure valuation.

“The pastrami indispensable beryllium amazing,” Einhorn observed.

Defendant James Patten exits national tribunal successful Camden, New Jersey, connected July 21.

Patten, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pleaded blameworthy successful December 2023, admitting that helium worked with 2 different men, Peter L. Coker Sr. and Peter L. Coker Jr., to manipulate the companies’ banal prices done coordinated trading which created the mendacious content that determination was existent proviso and request for the shares.

Previous Conviction

Patten, who antecedently served clip successful national situation for mail fraud, had faced arsenic overmuch arsenic 20 years if convicted astatine proceedings implicit the deli scam. On Tuesday, helium apologized for his actions and said helium wanted to “express sincere remorse,” blaming himself for “failing to allow” his amended judgement to instrumentality over.

According to his lawyer, Patten had worked for 25 years successful fiscal services erstwhile helium was convicted successful 2010, and that aft being helium was released from prison, helium was unemployable successful the industry.

The justice said the deli scam was a blase conspiracy that caused much than $5 cardinal successful losses for retail and organization investors. While Patten received the slightest magnitude of proceeds from the strategy — a small much than $100,000 — “this was his idea, and helium did it portion helium was inactive connected supervised release” aft his anterior conviction, O’Hearn said.

“He surely knew better,” the justice said. “This is not just, ‘one time I woke up and made a atrocious decision.'”

The condemnation was much than the 12 to 18 months requested by prosecutors.

Harm to Markets

“This was a superior offense, and determination were existent victims,” Assistant US Attorney Aaron Webman told the justice earlier sentencing. He said specified scams origin “harm to the fiscal strategy — to people’s religion and assurance successful the markets.”

Defense lawyer Adam Brody had sought a condemnation with nary situation time, saying Patten had accepted work from the opening and has tried to marque amends for his mediocre choices. He besides argued Coker Jr. was the astir culpable successful the strategy due to the fact that without him and an unindicted co-conspirator, immoderate of the organization investors ne'er would person invested.

The Cokers pleaded blameworthy a twelvemonth aft Patten successful December 2024. Peter Coker Sr. was sentenced to six months successful situation successful May 2025, portion his lad received a akin condemnation aft recognition for clip served and bully behaviour astatine jails successful New Jersey and Thailand.

Patten — a Paulsboro autochthonal — helped commencement the deli successful October 2015 with a person and wrestling manager astatine the town’s precocious school, but helium soon began conspiring with the Cokers to make a nationalist institution that would service arsenic a reverse-merger vehicle, according to prosecutors and a parallel suit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hometown merged successful March 2022 with Makamer Holdings, a bioplastics startup, selling the deli’s inventory for $700 and the store itself for $15,000, according to tribunal filings.

The 3 men besides utilized the aforesaid method to prop up the worth of shares of Kent, Washington-based E-Waste, which merged with EZRaider Global Inc., a backstage Nevada corp that purported to administer electrical tactical vehicles, successful September 2021.

Your Hometown Deli unopen down successful August 2022.

The lawsuit is US v Patten, 22-cr-643, US District Court, District of New Jersey (Camden).

Top Photo: James Patten exits national tribunal successful Camden, New Jersey connected July 21. Bloomberg photo.

Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.

Topics New Jersey