On January 11, 2023, Peter Koch Jr. (left) received a police search warrant at his villa in the southern Thai resort of Phuket.
Crime Suppression Division, Royal Thai Police | Associated Press
predecessor fugitive Responsible stock manipulation in the bizarre case of losing money New Jersey Deli Assets once worth $100 million were detained from Thailand late Tuesday and are on their way to a planned court appearance U.S.his lawyer said.
The defendant, a corrupt Hong Kong businessman Peter Kirk Jr.Attorney John Azzarello told CNBC that an appearance in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey is expected as early as Wednesday afternoon or as late as possible.
Coker Jr., 54, was arrested in mid-January at a resort in Phuket, Thailand.He was arrested more than three months after the highly publicized arrest North Carolina His two co-defendants: his father, Peter Coker Sr. and James Patten.
Since his arrest by Thai authorities, Coker Jr. has been held in a Bangkok prison awaiting transfer to the United States, with extradition waived.
Cork Jr.’s legal team is “still in discussions” with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey about possible bail options, Azzarello said. He would not comment on whether prosecutors objected to the judge releasing Cork Jr. on bond.
A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
80-year-old Coker Sr. Patten and Patten, 64, were each released on $100,000 bond after their arrest in September in an alleged eight-year scheme.
All three defendants were charged in a 12-count indictment in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, accusing them of committing financial crimes related to two publicly traded companies.
one of the companies, Hometown International, owns just one humble, now-defunct deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey. another company, electronic wasteis a shell company with no assets.
Mugshot of Peter Lee Coker from the Raleigh/Wake City and County Bureau of Identification (CCBI).
Source: Raleigh/Wake City and County Identification Bureau
Prosecutors allege the trio planned to artificially inflate the value of the two companies’ shares in a bid to make them attractive takeover targets for private companies looking to capitalize on their stock markets.
“These tactics artificially inflated the stock prices of Hometown International and E-Waste by creating the false impression that the market was genuinely interested in the stock,” prosecutors said in a release last fall. “They The net effect of his scheme was to artificially inflate shares of Hometown International by approximately 939% and E-Waste by approximately 19,900%.”