James Patten Gets 21 Months in $100 Million Deli Stock Fraud
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jul 21
James Patten Gets 21 Months in $100 Million Deli Stock Fraud
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jul 21
Summary
A New Jersey federal judge sentenced James Patten, 67, to 21 months in prison for helping drive a tiny Paulsboro deli company’s market value to $100 million.
Judge Christine O'Hearn said Patten deserved prison because he launched the scheme while on supervised release for a prior federal fraud case and still owing restitution.
Patten also received three years of supervised release and about $5 million in restitution, making him the last of three defendants sentenced after Peter Coker Sr. and Jr. served six and 40 months.
Prosecutors said Patten and the Cokers manipulated trading in Hometown International and E-Waste, inflating their shares by 939% and 19,900% to make the companies attractive for reverse mergers.
The case grew out of scrutiny that followed David Einhorn's 2021 remark that Hometown's lone deli asset hardly justified its valuation — 'The pastrami must be amazing.'