Head of $100 Million NJ Deli Scheme Pleads Guilty to Fraud (1)

A man who orchestrated a scheme that inflated the value of a small New Jersey deli to more than $100 million pleaded guilty to fraud.

James T. Patten on Wednesday admitted he committed securities fraud and conspiracy in a hearing before US District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn in Camden, New Jersey, according to prosecutors.

Patten, 64, was one of three men charged in September 2022 with scheming to artificially inflate the price of two companies through manipulative trading, including Hometown International Inc. That company’s only asset was “Your Hometown Deli” in Paulsboro, New Jersey, just across the Delaware River from ...