Barry Minkow
Barry Jay Minkow (born March 22, 1966) is a former American businessman, pastor, and convicted felon. While still in high school, Minkow founded ZZZZ Best (pronounced "Zee 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. ZZZZ Best collapsed in 1987, costing investors and lenders $100 million in one of the largest investment frauds ever perpetrated by a single person, as well as one of the largest accounting frauds in history. The scheme is often used as a case study of accounting fraud.
Barry Minkow | |
|---|---|
| Born | Barry Jay Minkow March 22, 1966 Inglewood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Carpet-cleaning company owner, fraud investigator, pastor |
| Criminal status | 1988: Released in 1995 2011: Released June 6, 2019 |
| Conviction(s) | December 14, 1988 2011: Pleaded guilty on March 30 2014: Pleaded guilty on January 22 |
| Criminal charge | 1988: Racketeering, securities fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, mail fraud, tax evasion, bank fraud, credit card fraud 2011: conspiracy to commit securities fraud 2014: Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and to defraud the United States |
| Penalty | 1988: 25 years in federal prison, five years' probation, $26 million in restitution 2011: Five years in federal prison, $583.5 million in restitution 2014: Five years in federal prison, $3.4 million in restitution |
After being released from jail, Minkow became a pastor and fraud investigator in San Diego, and spoke at churches and schools about ethics. This 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, Minkow admitted to defrauding his own church and was sentenced to an additional five years in prison. He is subject to restitution requirements totaling $612 million.
