Barry Minko

Barry Minkow was responsible for the Ponzi scheme fraud with ZZZZ Best. In May of 1987, he was found guilty for fifty-seven federal felonies and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison and ordered to pay twenty-six million dollars in restitution. While in prison, Minkow worked with detectives and accountants to provide seminars and videos that would help to catch white-collar crime. He also became an evangelical Christian. Minkow served only seven of his sentenced twenty-five years and in 1995 he was paroled. CNN Money states, “Minkow was released in 1995, obtained his master’s in divinity, married, and then landed the head pastorship of the San Diego Community Bible Church in 1997” (Parloff, 2012). The article also states, “In some respects, Minkow appears to have considered his criminal background an asset for his new position, since it gave him an unusually deep appreciation for the miraculousness of Jesus’s mercy” (Parloff, 2012). Minkow’s first wife left him in 1999 and left him in debt. He remarried in 2001. Also in 2001, Minkow founded the Fraud Discovery Institute, a for-profit company. He was sought out by many people asking for advice in regards to investments. Though this advice he was able to turn suspicious investments into the FBI and SEC. Several people were convicted of fraud based on Minkow’s allegations. With his company, Minkow provided several speaking engagements and training seminars to the FBI academy. Because of all of his good deeds, Minkow was granted release of his parole in 2002. The good deeds and work with federal agencies led Minkow to uncovering 13 Ponzi scheme frauds by 2005. The FBI stated, “You identified millions of dollars of fraud and prevented further potential economic loss to hundreds of victims” (Parloff, 2012). All of Minkow’s good deeds soon came to an end in 2006. Barry Minkow began moving into the possibility of public companies instead of just the private company fraud that he had been uncovering....