A former stockbroker and ex-convict from North Carolina, James Patten, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with a scheme to manipulate the stock of a company named Hometown International and inflate it to a market capitalization of $100 million despite having just one asset — which was a small neighborhood deli in southern New … Continue reading $100 Million Deli? Ex-Convict Pleads Guilty In New Jersey Stock Fraud Case