Barry Minkow Biography
Barry Minkow whose birth name is Barry Jay Minkow is a former American businessman, pastor, and convicted felon. While still in high school, he founded ZZZZ Best, which appeared to be an immensely successful carpet-cleaning and restoration company. However, it was actually a front to attract investment for a massive Ponzi scheme. It collapsed in 1987, costing investors and lenders $100 million one of the largest investment frauds ever perpetrated by a single person, as well as one of the largest accounting frauds in history.
After being released from jail, Minkow became a pastor and fraud investigator in San Diego, and spoke at schools about ethics. This all came to an end in 2011, when he admitted to helping deliberately drive down the stock price of homebuilder Lennar and was ordered back to prison for five years. . Three years later he admitted to defrauding his own church and was sentenced to an additional five years in prison.
Barry Minkow Age
Barry was born in Inglewood, California on March 22, 1966 he is currently 53 years old as of 2019.
Barry Minkow Education
Barry attended Cleveland High School where he started ZZZZ Best in his parents’ garage with three employees and four phones.
Barry Minkow Wife|Gay
Barry Minkow is married to his beautiful wife, Lisa. He has successfully kept the details of his wife and marriage status under the wraps. The couple has adopted two Guatemalan 14 year old twin sons. The former pastor, Barry lives with his family in rural Crossville, Tennessee. However, his married life with wife and children falsifies his gay rumors
Barry Minkow Career
Barry started his carpet cleaning business called “ZZZZ Best” at the early age of 15 in his parent’s garage. His company made an escalating growth to 1400 employees in just four years. His company became the national sensation and was valued to be around $280 million that time. After three years, ZZZZ Best gave authority to private shareholders and the company’s stock worth $18 per share in 1986.
During the prime time of his company, he also had Genovese mafia among his clientele. His company was accused of a Ponzi scheme and collapsed in 1987. The American businessman was sentenced to 25 years but served only seven years.During his period in prison, he turned his religion to Christianity and joined the Christian ministry. He soon became the pastor at the Community Bible Church in San Diego. He gave his religious lectures to the University students and business community to prevent fraud.
The company had also a half T-shirt printed ZZZZ BEST CARPET CLEANING & FURNITURE that is being sold on a global online platform, Redbubble for $19.90 per piece. Besides his entrepreneurial journey, he cements his earnings as an author. Barry has published many books including Clean Sweep priced $55.88 at Amazon.com. His other publications are Cleaning Up (2005) and Down, but Not Out: 10 Steps for Rebuilding Your Life, Your Career, And All That Other Stuff (2007).
The mastermind fraudster, Barry turned to white fraud buster after he got out of jail. He targeted the Herbalife nutritional company known for the weight loss. Reportedly he received $300,000 from the company to shut his mouth. He was later involved in manipulating the shares of Lennar Corp illegally. He pled guilty but was sentenced to five years in jail.
Barry Minkow Movie
On June 14, 2011; KGTV in San Diego interviewed several members of Minkow’s former church, who said Minkow swindled them. One woman said Minkow asked her for $300,000, purportedly to help finance a movie about his redemption. Prior to his 2011 conviction, production began on a film detailing Barry Minkow’s life and redemption. The film, featuring Mark Hamill, Justin Baldoni, Talia Shire, and Ving Rhames, was partially funded by donations Minkow solicited from his congregation. Minkow insisted on playing the middle aged version of himself in the film. Following his arrest the film’s release was cancelled and work began on a new ending. The film – retitled Con Man from the original title Minkow was eventually released in March 2018.
Barry Minkow Prison
Minkow and 10 other ZZZZ Best insiders were indicted by a Los Angeles federal grand jury in January 1988 on 54 counts of racketeering, securities fraud, money laundering, embezzlement, mail fraud, tax evasion and bank fraud. The indictment accused Minkow of bilking banks and investors of millions of dollars while systematically draining his company of assets. It also accused Minkow of setting up dummy companies, writing phony invoices and conducting tours of purported restoration sites. Prosecutors estimated that as much as 90 percent of the company’s revenue was fraudulent. On June 16, prosecutors won a superseding indictment charging Minkow with credit card fraud and two additional counts of mail fraud.
While Minkow admitted to manipulating the company’s stock, he claimed that he was forced to turn the company into a Ponzi scheme under pressure from the organized-crime figures who secretly controlled his company, a story he later admitted was false. On December 14, he was found guilty on all charges.
On March 27, 1989, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was also placed on five years probation and ordered to pay $26 million in restitution. In sentencing him, U.S. District Court Judge Dickran Tevrizian described Minkow as a man without a conscience. He rejected Minkow’s plea for a lighter sentence as “a joke” and “a slap on the wrist” for someone who had manipulated the financial system.
The SEC subsequently banned him from ever serving as an officer or director of a public company again. He served under seven and a half years, most of them at Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood. While imprisoned, Minkow had become a born-again Christian. During his prison stay, he became involved in Christian ministry, completing coursework through Liberty University’s School of Lifelong Learning.
Barry Minkow Net Worth
Minkow claimed a net worth of $90 million when he was running ZZZZ Best Co., a publicly traded carpet cleaning company, in the 1980s. The court said Minkow’s damage to Lennar tallied “at least $583,573,600.” That’s a pretty big number, even to a company with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion.