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Barry Jay Minkow (born March 17, 1967) is an American former businessman, pastor, and convicted felon. While still in high school, he 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. 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. The scheme is often used as a case study of accounting fraud. 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. As a result of his crimes, he faces having to pay a total of $612 million in restitution—an amount that he will likely spend the rest of his life repaying. ==Beginnings of ZZZZ Best== Minkow was born in Inglewood, California to a Jewish family, and was raised in Reseda, Los Angeles. When he was nine years old, his mother got him a job as a telemarketer with the carpet-cleaning business where she worked. At the age of 15, while a sophomore at Cleveland High School, Minkow started ZZZZ Best in his parents' garage with three employees and four phones. In the early years, he had to rely on friends to drive him to jobs since he did not have a driver's license.〔Miller, Alan C. (Barry Minkow--His Dream Born in a Garage Turns Sour ). Los Angeles Times, 1988-01-19.〕 At first, Minkow struggled to meet basic expenses. Two banks closed his business account because California law did not allow minors to sign binding contracts, including checks. He was also plagued by customer complaints and demands for payment from suppliers. At times, he found it difficult even to meet payroll. Faced with a shortage of operating capital, he financed his business via check kiting, stealing and selling his grandmother's jewelry, staging break-ins at his offices, and running up fraudulent credit card charges. Soon after, Minkow branched into the "insurance restoration" business. With the help of Tom Padgett, an insurance claims adjuster, Minkow forged numerous documents claiming that ZZZZ Best was involved in numerous restoration projects for Padgett's company. Padgett and Minkow formed a fake company, Interstate Appraisal Services, that verified the details of the restorations to Minkow's bankers. Flush with loans from these banks, Minkow expanded ZZZZ Best across Southern California.〔(Famous Scams: ZZZZ Best ). The Motley Fool, 2009-11-02.〕 ZZZZ Best differed in part from a typical Ponzi in that its carpet-cleaning business was real. Indeed, the carpet-cleaning division won high marks for its quality.〔 However, its insurance restoration division, which eventually accounted for 86 percent of company revenues, was nonexistent.〔Murphy, Kim; Miller, Alan C. (Minkow, 10 Others Face 54 Counts ) Los Angeles Times, 1988-01-16.〕 Minkow raised money by factoring his accounts receivable for work under contract, as well as floating funds through several banks in an elaborate check kiting scheme. After graduating from high school in 1985, Minkow devoted his time to ZZZZ Best. However, still short of cash, he got a loan from Jack Catain, a Los Angeles businessman who had ties to organized crime. Catain later sued Minkow for not paying him his share of the company's profits, but Minkow claimed Catain was a usurer. The suit was still working its way through the courts at the time of Catain's death in 1987.〔 Other organized crime figures turned up as Minkow's advisers, which unnerved other employees.〔 For instance, a major shareholder, Maurice Rind, had been convicted of securities fraud in 1976. Minkow was also a business partner with Robert Viggiano, a convicted jewel thief and reputed loanshark.〔Akst, Daniel. (Fallen Star: How Whiz-Kid Chief Of ZZZZ Best Had, And Lost, It All ). The Wall Street Journal, 1987-07-09.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Barry Minkow」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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