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Former fugitive wanted for a criminal handling fees A person linked to a loss-making New Jersey deli once valued at $100 million has agreed to be extradited from Thailand to the US, Thai authorities said.
Peter Coker Jr., 54, was arrested last week by Thai police within the resort of Phuket, greater than three months after he, his father, Peter Coker Sr., and co-worker, James Patten, were indicted in a federal court in New Jersey.
The 12-allegation grievance pertains to financial crimes related to 2 listed firms, A world hometownwhich owned only modest, now closed delis in Paulsboro, New Jersey and E-wastea shell company that had no assets.
Coker Jr., an American last known to have lived and worked as a businessman in Hong Kong, is being held in a Bangkok prison for the subsequent few weeks before his expected extradition. The Associated Press reported Friday.
Thai police said in a press release that Coker Jr. entered the country with a passport issued by the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis. This nation is selling citizenship for investment, the AP noted.
“Mr. Cocker Jr. he voluntarily agreed to be extradited to the US, which simplified the judicial process,” Teerat Limpayaraya, a prosecutor on the Thailand Attorney General’s Office, told the AP.
“We now have to undergo a 30-day waiting period as required by Thai law before sending it back,” Teerat said.
The prosecutor also told the AP that Coker Jr. “he was clearly weak when he was admitted and told us he needed treatment for a liver condition.”
“We consider he got here to Thailand with a possible plan to settle here,” Teerat said.
U.S. prosecutors accuse the Cokers and Patten of conspiring to bid up the worth of shares of Hometown International and E-Waste, which had a high market capitalization despite having few or no assets of value, to make them more attractive to non-public firms as merger candidates. The 2 firms later found merger partners.
Cocker Jr. was chairman of Hometown International.
While Pattan and Coker Sr. have appeared in court since their arrest, it was believed that Coker Jr. he was at large until his arrest last week.
A spokesman for the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is handling the case, confirmed Coker Jr.’s arrest. in Thailand but declined to comment further.