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January 14, 2009

The Fraudbuster Working Overtime

Pastor, investigator Barry Minkow is sued after calling homebuilder a fraud.

Rob Moll

Barry Minkow, Fraudbuster and pastor of San Diego's Community Bible Church, has been busy since the stock market began its decline a year ago last October. Last year, Minkow called Herbalife a fraud--essentially a multi-level marketing business that sold nearly all of its products to its sales people.

Now, Minkow has turned his sights on Lennar, a homebuilder with Ponzi scheme-like activities operating under joint ventures. The company, Minkow says, "has a pattern of behavior over a sustained period of time of knowingly and willfully abusing the legal system to gain an unfair advantage over the less capitalized, smaller entities."

After the letter from Minkow's Fraud Discovery Institute hit the web, Lennar shares fell 20 percent, prompting the company to sue Minkow.

It should be noted that Minkow's work tends to be profitable. Lennar alledges that one of its former partners hired "Minkow and his company to use any means available, including fraud, identity theft and manipulation of securities markets, to wrongfully and falsely harm Lennar's business and reputation." And Minkow shorted (profiting from a decline in shares) Herbalife's stock while calling it a fraud.

Having run his own scam, Minkow knows how they operate. But since his release from prison, he's stuck to the straight and narrow. "We don't put out false information," he says of the Fraud Discovery Institute.

posted by Rob Moll | Comments (4)

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I've been watching Barry Minkow for years now and don't believe he has proven himself to have changed at all. He is abrasive, arrogant, and associates with other notorious snakes.

Posted By: connie | January 15, 2009 5:30 PM

Connie, why would you make such a statement. Have you ever heard the phrase "keep your friends close and your enemies closer"?? Sometimes we have to associate ourselves with scum of the earth in order to do a greater good. That doesn't make him a bad persion or accepting of the behaviours and lifestyles of others.
And, if this is why you are judging Mr. Minkow then you need to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself why you think of yourself as holier than though when you probably sit at home doing nothing for the community or for your country.

Posted By: gina | January 23, 2009 8:58 AM

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Gina, it does not speak well of Mr. Minkow that he makes money (by shorting) off of the very frauds he exposes. It reveals a conflict of interest and a distinct lack of integrity on the part of Mr. Minkow.

I don't know much about the man, but a summary review of the evidence suggests that perhaps he has not changed, but has only found a more insidious method of deception. Fool me twice...well, you (should) know how it goes.

Posted By: clay | January 26, 2009 1:35 PM

Although, if we associate TOO much with the scum of the earth, we tend to pick up a few of their traits. Perhaps what happened to Minkow?

Posted By: Church Fraud Prevention | January 29, 2011 4:33 PM