New Jersey deli defendant Peter Coker Jr. held without bail

Peter Coker Jr., left, is issued search warrants from police at his villa on the southern resort island of Phuket, Thailand, Jan. 11, 2023.

Crime Suppression Division, Royal Thai Police | AP

CAMDEN, N.J. — The former fugitive at the center of a securities fraud case involving a $100 million New Jersey deli was ordered held without bail Monday as a federal judge ruled he is a serious flight risk.

A magistrate judge had approved Peter Coker Jr.’s release on a $1.5 million bond in late March, but he remained in an Essex County jail as prosecutors appealed the ruling. 

During a hearing Monday in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, and in motions filed before the court, prosecutors argued Coker Jr. should be held pending trial because he had renounced his U.S. citizenship, had “extensive” links to foreign countries and owned more than $3 million in assets. 

Judge Christine O’Hearn sided…