Peter Coker, Sr., 82, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Peter Coker, Jr., 56, formerly of Hong Kong, China, both pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey announced today.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the father and son admitted to orchestrating a large-scale market manipulation scheme involving two publicly traded companies.
James Patten, 65, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges.
From 2014 through September 2022, Coker Sr., Coker Jr., and Patten conspired to manipulate securities prices through coordinated trading, the department said.
According to the department, the defendants targeted two publicly traded companies—Hometown International Inc. and E-Waste Corp.
Coker Sr., Coker Jr., and Patten gained control of the companies’ management and stock, intending to enter reverse mergers—transactions in which an existing public company merges with a private operating company, the department said.