Ex-fugitive in fraud scheme tied to $100 million NJ deli willing to pay millions for bail

NEWARK, N.J. – The erstwhile fugitive connected to a New Jersey deli institution whose banal erstwhile was absurdly valued astatine $100 cardinal was ordered held successful jailhouse without bail — for now, astatine slightest — connected Wednesday aft his extradition from Thailand.

But Hong Kong businessman Peter Coker Jr. is consenting to enactment up each the wealth helium has — arsenic overmuch arsenic astir $4 cardinal oregon much — with his parents offering their "dream" location arsenic collateral to unafraid his merchandise connected bond, a defence lawyer told a justice successful U.S. District Court successful Newark, New Jersey.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes was mum successful tribunal connected whether helium volition reason enslaved for Coker Jr., but is expected to bash truthful successful the coming days.

Watching from the assemblage was Coker's mother, Susan, and his father, Peter Coker Sr., 80, who is besides a suspect successful the case.

"He looks good," Susan Coker told her son's lawyers, John Azzaerello and Bill McGovern, afterward.

The antheral Cokers and a 3rd man, 63-year-old James Patten, are accused of a strategy to artificially boost the prices of the publically traded stocks of Hometown International, and a related ammunition company, E-Waste, to summation their attractiveness arsenic merger partners for backstage companies.

The banal terms of Hometown, which owned lone the small, money-losing Your Hometown Deli successful Paulsboro, roseate much than 900% arsenic a effect of the alleged scheme. E-Waste's shares popped astir 20,000%.

Both companies were forced to instrumentality the highly unusual, if not unprecedented, measurement of publically disavowing their monolithic marketplace valuations aft CNBC elaborate ineligible issues surrounding aggregate radical connected to the companies, including Coker Sr.

The elder Cokers drove from their location successful Chapel, Hill, North Carolina, for what turned retired to beryllium conscionable a 10-minute-long proceeding connected Wednesday to see, but not speech to their 54-year-old son, who was successful shackles for the proceeding.

"We emotion our son," Susan Coker told CNBC aft the hearing. "We miss our son."

Coker Sr., however, snapped, "You indispensable beryllium hard up," aft being asked however helium felt astir having his lad backmost home.

Coker Jr., who was dressed successful a black, Nehru-collar garment with reddish buttons, was astir 40 pounds lighter than helium had been earlier spending 2 months locked up successful a Bangkok jailhouse nether what his defence lawyer Azzarello told Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer were "pretty deplorable" conditions.

"I deliberation helium was beauteous blessed to spot the United States arsenic immoderate of my ancestors were to spot the Statue of Liberty," quipped Azzarello, who entered a not-guilty plea connected behalf of his client.

Hammer, aft advising Coker Jr. of his rights, said helium would support him locked up pending a proposal soon from national authorities connected whether helium should stay detained oregon escaped connected bail with definite conditions.

Azarello told Hammer that Coker Jr. had astir $2 cardinal successful a Wells Fargo relationship successful the United States, and astir the aforesaid magnitude successful an relationship successful Hong Kong. However, the Hong Kong relationship has been frozen by authorities there, helium said.

The lawyer besides said the elder Cokers' home, which they are consenting to usage arsenic information truthful that their lad tin beryllium released to unrecorded with them oregon his sister successful the aforesaid state, is worthy $830,000.

Coker Jr. is "pretty overmuch consenting to involvement each nickel helium has" to beryllium released connected bond, Azzarello said.

After the hearing, Azzarello told CNBC, "I don't deliberation this case, by immoderate means, requires pretrial detention."

But Azzarello said expects the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey to inquire a justice to support the younger Coker locked up until he, Coker Sr. and Patten, are tried for the superior transgression charges.

Coker Sr. and Patten, who were arrested successful September aft a expansive assemblage indicted them and Coker Jr. connected 12 transgression counts, each stay escaped connected $100,000 bond.

Matthew Reilly, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined to remark erstwhile asked whether prosecutors from the bureau would reason Coker Jr.'s bail request.

Coker Jr., who had lived for decades successful Hong Kong, antecedently served arsenic the president of Hometown International. His begetter was a large shareholder successful the company, whose banal marketplace capitalization erstwhile topped $100 cardinal contempt the deli it owned having gross of little than $40,000 implicit a two-year period.

The younger Coker besides had served arsenic enforcement president of South Shore Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong company that owned a financially troubled hotel successful Macau, China: The 13.

That property's archetypal investors included Steve Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors, Fidelity International and Omega Advisors.

Three months aft his begetter and Patten were arrested, Coker Jr. was apprehended by Thai constabulary connected Jan. 11 successful the edifice country of Phuket, wherever helium had been staying successful a hotel.

Thai constabulary said helium had entered the state with a passport issued by the Caribbean land of St. Kitts and Nevis, which sells citizenships successful speech for investments there.

A authoritative successful Thailand's Attorney General's Office told the Associated Press aft the apprehension that Coker Jr. had waived extradition backmost to the U.S.

The authoritative said besides told the AP that Coker Jr. "was visibly frail erstwhile helium was taken successful and told america that helium needs aesculapian attraction for his liver disease."

"We judge that helium entered Thailand with a imaginable program to settee here," the authoritative said.