$ 100 million New Jersey deli company delisted from OTC market

Deli’s residence in Paulsboro, NJ

CNBC

The $ 100 million company, which owns only one deli in New Jersey, was banned from the OTCQB over-the-counter market “for non-compliance,” and was given a warning tag to potential buyers Wednesday night, the CEO of the company said. Company. which serves that market, said in a tweet.

The promotion came six days after the deli owner, Hometown International, was flagged as a warning to retail customers by hedge fund manager David Einhorn in a client letter.

Shares of Hometown International have skyrocketed in the past year, giving it a market cap of $ 100 million or more – despite sales in Paulsboro, NJ, deli sales of only about $ 35,000 combined in the past two years.

The stock, which traded just $ 4.75 a share last year, closed the OTCQB market at $ 13.07 a share on Wednesday, up 2.51% from the day before.

Since Einhorn’s letter was issued, CNBC has reported that multiple people affiliated with Hometown International or related entities have faced regulatory sanctions, legal troubles and criminal charges.

Cromwell Coulson, the CEO of OTC Markets Group, tweeted late Wednesday, “$ HWIN has been removed from OTCQB for non-compliance and has flagged the CE over public interest concerns.”

The abbreviation ‘CE’ stands for ‘caveat emptor’, the Latin expression meaning ‘copper beware’. OTC Markets Groups operates the OTCQX Best Market, OTCQB Venture Market, and Pink Market for approximately 11,000 US and foreign securities.

Earlier Wednesday, at the announcement of the Caveat Emptor label on Hometown International, the OTC Markets Group’s Twitter account linked to the label’s explanation.

Your hometown of Deli in Paulsboro, NJ

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OTC Markets Group designates certain securities as ‘Caveat Emptor’ and places a skull with crossbones icon next to the stock symbol to inform investors that there may be reason to take extra care and investigate thoroughly before making an investment decision in that security. to take, ”says that policy.

The designation can be granted, says OTC Markets Group policy, if that company becomes aware of a stock promotion that is misleading or manipulative, an investigation of fraud or other criminal activity, undisclosed business actions, or if there is’ a concern is of general interest with regard to surveillance. “

The CEO of Hometown International, Paul Morina, is the main and main wrestling coach of Paulsboro High School, which is located near the company’s Your Hometown Deli. He owns common shares and warrants for a total of 30.5 million shares.

Morina, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, has not returned repeated requests for comment.

Neither the chairman of the company, Peter Coker Jr. from Hong Kong, or his father, Peter Coker Sr., a major investor in Hometown International, whose firm Tryon Capital has a $ 15,000-a-month advisory agreement with the deli owner.

In addition to Morina’s interests, most of the company’s shares are owned by two groups of entities located in Hong Kong and Macao, China. Each set of entities shares the same address in their respective cities.

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