Federal prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of 12 to 18 months for James Patten, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud in the $100 million New Jersey deli stock manipulation case. This sentence is significantly lower than the 70 to 87 months suggested by advisory guidelines.
Patten has been free awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for July 21. Prosecutors argue that a harsher sentence than his co-defendants would be unfair:
Two other men involved in the fraud, Peter Coker Sr. and Peter Coker Jr., received prison sentences of six months and 40 months, respectively:
The scheme involved artificially inflating the stock prices of two companies, Hometown International and E-Waste:
