James Patten was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in a brazen stock manipulation scheme involving a small New Jersey deli.
James Patten was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in prison for his role in a stock manipulation scheme that inflated the market capitalization of a small, money-losing New Jersey deli to $100 million. During the hearing in U.S. District Court in Camden, New Jersey, James Patten asked Judge Christine O'Hearn for no prison time, but the judge ruled that the former stockbroker deserved a term due to his prior federal fraud conviction. The scheme involved manipulating the share prices of Hometown International and a shell company called E-Waste to make them attractive for reverse mergers. While the deli's stock price rose by 939%, the owners of the deli were largely unaware of the manipulation. In addition to his prison term, James Patten must serve three years of supervised release and pay approximately $5 million in restitution. He was the final defendant to be sentenced in the case, following his co-conspirators, Peter Coker Sr. and Peter Coker Jr.