He was convicted of 57 fraud charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He once had a very impressive resume; he founded his first company while he was still in high school. • He was also exposed by Los Angeles Times investigation, which stated that the company was involved in credit card fraud scam. In a new interview with the Southern California News Group, Minkow reflects on the decisions that. Maryanne had an. Conversation with a Fraudster Brett Johnson On Demand Webinar. it might just need a sequel. During 1985 to 1986, ZZZZ Best’s debt to equity ratio increased by 8600% and the return on equity dropped by more than 75%. Barry Minkow Net Worth. However, the extended redemption tour came to a crashing halt in 2011, when it was revealed that Minkow had used his Fraud Discovery Institute to engage in insider trading, and also embezzled more. In this case, the company is Los Angeles-based ZZZZ Best Co. Once an owner of a multi-million dollar carpet cleaning company, today Barry Minkow’s net worth does not even close to $100,000. By May 1987, on the eve of the takeover, the Los Angeles Times published an article detailing that Minkow had previously been involved in $72,000 worth of fraudulent charges and was still refusing. The tale of betrayal made the three-time felon one of the worst white-collar criminals according a federal judge. Professional CPE Package. According to Barry Minkow, co-founder of the Fraud Discovery Institute, Terrell Herring, President and COO of inVentiv Health Inc. " The fraud on SDCBC is just the latest fraud perpetrated by Minkow. Only there was no hospital, and Minkow pocketed the money. A man who went from teenage millionaire to convicted con artist to professional fraud fighter and pastor was convicted Wednesday of cheating his San Diego church congregation out of some $3 million. from defrauding investors, today, as cofounder of the Fraud Discovery Institute, he's uncovered over a billion dollars worth of. on at least $50 million in revenue for its fiscal year ended April 30 compared to net income of $945,645, or 12 cents a share, on $4. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for securities fraud and embezzlement. ” In the 1996 Washington Post profile, Minkow said he had turned his life around. Barry Minkow Biography and Wiki. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2021. At age 15, he started a carpet-cleaning business called Zzzz Best, which came to be valued at $280 million. Barry Jay Minkow is a former American businessman, pastor, and convicted felon. j. Seek Lower Bail. Five CBD Gummies Worth Trying. In December of 1986, ZZZZ Best went public and eventually had a market valuation of more than $200 million. The 38-year-old Minkow served more than seven years in prison for the infamous 1980s scam. A teenage sensation in the 1980s. S. As a 1980s California high school sophomore, Minkow founded ZZZZ Best carpet cleaners, which grew at such an. Barry Minkow has admitted not only his fraud, but his omission of over $890,000 in unreported income and over $250,000 in tax. Minkow claimed a net worth of $90 million when was running ZZZZ Best Co. Barry Minkow was a “compulsive debtor” who had an uncontrollable need for. Minkow claimed a net worth of $90 million when was running ZZZZ Best Co. Another church member — a retired grandmother with health issues — says Minkow left her with about $300,000 in unpaid loans; a third says Minkow forged his name on a $100,000 loan guarantee; a. $79. Pastor John Gray has accumulated quite a considerable amount of wealth through his various television projects, books, and endorsements. Barry Minkow now starts his day at 3 a. Certainly his actions would fully support what many think. The rest of the story is sadly. At age 15, he started a carpet-cleaning business called Zzzz Best, which came to be valued at $280 million. Minkow 's personal worth reportedly topped $100 million. According to documents filed with the court, Minkow operated Fraud Discovery Institute, a for profit fraud investigation firm based in California. So, in this article, we discussed all information about Barry Minkow's net worth, wiki, bio, career, height, weight, family, pics, affairs, car, salary, age, and other details in 2023. 4 Pages. Once an owner of a multi-million dollar carpet cleaning company, today Barry Minkow’s net worth does not even close to $100,000. Barry Minkow Height. Never Miss: Barry Minkow Net Worth, Wife, Gay, Married. Barry Minkow > Crime:. In 1988's court case against Minkow, conflicting portraits of Barry Minkow painted a brilliant con man and a frightened boy in the clutches of the Mafia during opening statements at the securities fraud trial of the carpet cleaning whiz kid. /. 9:32 - 9:34 if they're in a business with you commercially, one to one. Background photo via nria. Barry Minkow Net Worth. EDT. Mr. In less than ten years, Barry Minkow had made enough money to where he was considering buying the Seattle Mariners. David Brenner Height, Weight, Age, Wife, Net Worth. , CFE - Speaker President Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Show More Policies CPE Credit. m. Barry Jay Minkow . Let’s check, How Rich is Barry Minkow in 2019? According to Wikipedia, Forbes & Various Online resource, Barry Minkow’s estimated net worth Under Review . At 10, he carried. Using that story to inflate ZZZZ Best's worth on paper, Minkow turned the company into a hot Wall Street property, garnered at least $26 million in loans and public stock offerings and became a. Minkow claimed a net worth of $90 million when was running ZZZZ Best Co. Pooch poachers take more than $100,000 worth of pets from Gardena. Here are three lessons investors should take from the Barry Minkow story. Presenters. Barry Jay Minkow. Then Barry Minkow, a former stock fraud felon, wrote and submitted a 500-page report basically alleging the company was a pyramid scheme and committed illegal practices to gain their outstanding profits. CPE Information. purportedly worth more than $7. 95, 288 pages). email during the show to talk@winningstrategies. Barry Minkow is a former American businessman, pastor, and convicted felon. So, how much is Barry Minkow worth at the age of 55 years of age. At just sixteen years of age, Barry Minkow had started his own company. In a new interview with the. 00. The problem was, the entire operation was a mob. ZZZZ Best is a bankrupt company that was owned by Barry Minkow in the 1980s. Minkow's attorney provided a copy of this letter as. com is an entertainment news website that cover biography, net worth, height, and all latest gists on celebrities. The company, which is publicly traded, first drew attention from regulators in 2007 when Barry Minkow, a convicted fraudster who. Maurice Rind, the financier identified by Barry Minkow as the secret architect of a massive fraud at Minkow's ZZZZ Best carpet cleaning company, invoked his privilege against self-incrimination. According to court records, Minkow had shorted Lennar stock, buying $20,000 worth of options in. Barry Minkow, 48, was ordered to do the time after completing a sentence for an unrelated scam that cost homebuilder Lennar Corp. ”. Barry Minkow didn`t make it to the White House or even the Johnny. 15, 1994 12 AM PT. Lennar's stock price tumbled $500 million in two days -- 20% of its value -- and Lennar filed libel and extortion lawsuits against Minkow. FILE - In this July 7, 2002 file photo, Barry Minkow, a convicted con artist and the co-founder of the for-profit Fraud Discovery Institute, wears a prison jumpsuit costume as he delivers a sermon. Carpet cleaning entrepreneur Barry Minkow was the victim of "battered wife syndrome" who was beaten, threatened at gunpoint and nearly drowned by a clan of mobsters who had taken over his company. 95. In the three-year period from 1984 to 1987, the company’s net income. James Caan Net Worth. stealing past week's church offerings worth more than $50,000 in cash and checks according to a report by. He became a Wall Street. SEE ALSO: Steve Howe Net Worth. . Barry Minkow, the 21-year-old. All the accolades and awards showed there was something unique about Barry. , when. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times. his subordinates to inflate the company’s value by $11 billion in order to entice investors and grow his own net worth. Barry Minkow started working at the young age of 9 which instilled in him a desire for business. This is the third installment of a three-part story on Barry Minkow. (NASDAQ: VTIV) “claims to have an MBA degree from Pacific Western University, a well known ‘diploma mill’ that ceased to exist by that name in 2007. The company was in big trouble. Mandy Moody ACFE Social Media Specialist. specific cases of criminal conspiracy ranging from the USA to offshore money havens, through Russia and. Description. A quarter century ago, a brilliant L. Minkow, who had taken the company public, claimed a net worth of $90 million and appeared on Oprah as an entrepreneurial whiz kid, served seven years in prison. Movies. Born and raised in U. EMMY and TELLY Award winning filmmaker Bruce Caulk McAlester is an actor’s director, a writer and producer. $79. Barry Minkow's New Scandal. Celebrating his 20th birthday and his net worth of $100 million, Barry is rebuked by his mother for valuing. Lisa also answers to Lisa Ann Palmer, Lisa A Palmer and Lisa A Minkow, and perhaps a couple of other names. Investigations also discovered over a $1 billion worth of errors in accounting transactions. “When we started the company my net worth wasn’t even $100,000,” he said. But ZZZZ Best – and Barry Minkow – were living a lie. $79. But, due to high competition in. Minkow was a reformed con man, a rehabilitated swindler who in 1982 at just fifteen years of age started a carpet cleaning empire called “ZZZZ Best. And whenever you establish the worth of someone based on what they can do and not on who they are, you have created the environment for fraud. Barry Minkow – Misrepresentation and Ponzi in 1987 Establishment of ZZZZ Best Company. The true tale of Barry Minkow, the amazing teen-age swindler, resembles the story ''The Emperor's New Clothes. Barry Minkow Career. A. specific cases of criminal conspiracy ranging from the USA to offshore money havens, through Russia and. 99 a month. Barry Minkow, founded his carpet cleaning business, ZZZZ Best in his parent’s garage when he was 16 years old. In the last two years, he’s uncovered over 1. Generally speaking, the bigger the hexagon is, the more valuable Barry Minkow networth should be on the internet! Barry Minkow could end up owing $1 billion if he lives long enough. What You Will Learn. That sounds like the Barry Minkow. Barry Minkow’s income source is mostly from being a successful . "July 6, 2011 5:08 PM PT. Like he said in his article with CFO Magazine he lied about what he owed and. Ponzi scheme run by Barry Minkow:. Minkow Addicted to Money, Defense Lawyer Tells Court. Today’s court action reaffirms IRS-Criminal Investigation’s commitment to investigating crimes involving tax and other financial crimes. For that, Minkow will be heading back to Club Fed for up to five years. it was me lying to myself saying ‘I’m uncovering a billion dollars worth of fraud,’” he added. 50 a share—an 81 percent drop from its high in February. Minkow lived well. “So in. According to a Fortune magazine profile of Barry Minkow, during the production of the biopic based on the investor’s life, Caan socialized with Minkow and was made aware by him that the financing of the film involved illegally. Minkow, who is accused of securities fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, faces a maximum of 350 years in prison and a $13. Times Staff Writer. How Barry Minkow, the scam artist, could reinvent himself and get rich many times. Only there was no hospital, and Minkow pocketed the money. In addition to making more money each day, Barry Minkow is becoming more well-known. On paper, Minkow himself was worth $109 million. 00. Tricked people into believing my company was worth millions to. Organized crime figures reaped huge profits from Barry Minkow's carpet-cleaning company and are counting on his conviction to take the heat off them, Minkow's attorney told a Los Angeles federal. TIMES STAFF WRITERS. This is because, as a result of the consequently declining sales, SureCut Shears ultimately further pushed itself into a deeper hole. “So in. The three-episode Discovery+ documentary series King of the Con tells the life story of Barry Minkow, an infamous conman turned pastor, who subsequently robbed a church of $3 million dollars. -- Wealthy entrepreneurs can point to all kinds of secrets for success. Minkow, who founded the ZZZZ Best carpet-cleaning company as a teen-ager, was found guilty today on all 57 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the collapse of. The Content Group. The video “Cooking the Books” discussed the ZZZZ Best case of fraud, it tells how and why fraud was perpetrated by Barry Minkow and why it was undetected for so long. ZZZZ Best was founded by Barry Minkow in 1982; when he was. We have already mentioned about him gifting his wife, a Lamborghini. November 3, 1988. July 9, 1987 11:59 pm ET. Minkow. beyond. At age 16, he started his own carpet cleaning company, which he built up to be an amazing feat for a teenager. By Peter White. it was me lying to myself saying ‘I’m uncovering a billion dollars worth of fraud,’” he added. Call in live and toll free with your questions at 800-336-2225, listen live at or. Nov. For his movie, Retroactive, Zoltan worked alongside actors Jim Belushi who possesses a net worth of $50 million and Frank Whaley who has a net worth of $3 million. Caan’s father was arrested after being accused by a Los Angeles rap artist of pulling a gun on him. $79. He talks to Oliver Burkeman . Sent to. pressuring his subordinates to inflate the company's value by $11 billion in order to entice investors and grow his own net worth. Today's court action reaffirms IRS Criminal Investigation's commitment to investigating crimes involving tax and other financial crimes. There are now 70 Barry’s across 14 countries. Peizer confirmed that he is worth more than $50 million, but he avoids the usual accouterments of wealth such as big houses and expensive cars. com covers news on celebrities across the. Former pastor and con man, Barry Minkow, age 48, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for stealing $3. ACFE Ethics CPE. Minkow’s attacks knocked more than $500 million off the stock market value of Lennar. . /. Year. As a 1980s California high school sophomore, Minkow founded ZZZZ Best carpet cleaners, which grew at such an astronomical rate that it swiftly turned the 16-year-old into a local (and then national) celebrity. Federal prosecutors have drafted a new chapter in the life story of Barry Minkow, making it a tale of a teenage con man who straightened out, only to go bad again. as cofounder of the Fraud Discovery Institute, he's uncovered over a billion dollars worth of investment scams. On paper, Barry was worth 109 Million dollars, and his success and philanthropy had garnered him the. Im Jahr 1982 gründet der High-School-Schüler Barry Minkow (Justin Baldoni) eine Teppichreinigungsfirma. Barry Minkow, once imprisoned for a huge stock market fraud, is now special adviser to the FBI in the wake of Enron and WorldCom. Minkow had claimed a net worth of $90 million, drove a red Ferrari with a "ZZZZ BEST" license plate and appeared on Oprah. He might earn around $100,000, But because Barry was arrested and charges were pressed against him, he has to lose a huge sum of money even though the actual money is not revealed. 50 to well more than $20 in a few months, Beam was suddenly worth millions. Age, Net Worth, Husband. The organization turned out to be extremely fruitful, and in a matter of seconds, it fell, costing the financial backers and loan specialists an extensive obligation which later ended up being the biggest extortion ever in history done. But in truth, Barry is running a Ponzi scheme and a fraudulent, non-existent business. Most of us can't imagine life getting much worse than it got for Barry Minkow, the one-time Wall Street wiz kid who catapulted his company to stardom and success only to see it exposed as a $300-million fraud. "He has done some good things," the judge said. Barry Minkow, once imprisoned for a huge stock market fraud, is now special adviser to the FBI in the wake of Enron and WorldCom. Before he could legally take a sip of alcohol he was worth $100 million and his company was worth three times that. He even employed his own parents for a time. Sandy Huffaker/Bloomberg via GettyFew con men are as notorious as Barry Minkow. Net Worth. May 19, 2005 / 4:54 PM / CBS. While still in high school, he founded ZZZZ Best (pronounced Zee Best), which appeared to be an immensely successful carpetcleaning and restoration company. Barry Minkow (born March 17, 1967) was an American teenage entrepreneur who managed to present the front of a successful businessman for a number of years during the 1980s. March 23, 2023. ZZZZ Best gave authority to private shareholders and the company’s stock worth $18. Celebrating his 20th birthday and his net worth of $100 million, Barry is rebuked by his. D. His net worth is $850,000. According to the video, ZZZZ Best was founded by Barry Minkow in 1982; when he was sixteen years old, it started as a carpet cleaning company. 00. Indeed. Barry Minkow Net Worth. ''. He took it public at age 20 and was briefly worth about $100 million on paper. Barry Minkow, mastermind of the ZZZZ Best carpet cleaning fraud 25 years ago who claimed redemption as a fraud buster and pastor after leaving prison, conspired with a San Diego developer to. The capitalizing of advertising expenses allowed them to inflate the net income for the first quarter of fiscal 1988. Premier CPE Package. Kenner and Minkow’s other newly hired attorney, Anthony Brooklier, filed a new motion Thursday seeking to reduce Minkow’s $1. Pro users also get the Pack-Rat feature. Minkow definitely earned a hefty sum of money through his career company. Add. Barry Minkow Wiki 2023, Height, Age, Net Worth 2023, Family - Find facts and details about Barry Minkow on wikiFame. Minkow’s worth, on paper, was ~$100m, and the company reported $33. Synopsis Barry Minkow was born on March 17, 1967 in Reseda, California. Reviews. APTN News *Famous People in USA; Barry Minkow Biography, Age, Education, Gay, Prison, Movie, Net Worth. $79. Taking into account various assets, Barry's net worth is greater than $250,000 - $499,999; and makes between $200 - 249,999 a year. 👉👉Check out the store: Today's sit down is special because Michael will be sharing the screen with a long-time friend, B. 3 billion dollars worth of white collar crime -- but. Minkow had claimed a net worth of $90 million, drove a red Ferrari with a "ZZZZ BEST" license plate and appeared on Oprah. A poor boy from the San Fernando Valley who was determined to build a different life from his parents, Barry Minkow had big dreams of money and success early on. The 1980s were plagued by numerous scandals. Minkow’s Height, weight, and body measurements are not available at the moment. Inglewood, California, United States, is the birthplace of. In the three-year period from 1984 to 1987, the company’s net income surged from less than $200,000 to more than $5 million on revenues of $50 million. According to a recent analysis o and the business insiders, we have got. That sounds like the Barry Minkow. Barry Minkow Gets|Five More Years. “So in. After it was all exposed, Minkow headed to prison for nearly eight years. Garland, acting special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigations for the Los Angeles field office, as reported by 10 News. , Briarwood Capital, LLC, Nicolas Marsch III, and several unnamed defendants. – Proverbs 26:11 NIV. A 15-year-old Barry Minkow started a carpet cleaning company in 1980s Los Angeles. “His enthusiasm. Professional CPE Package. Barry Minkow Net Worth. Lisa Minkow is 56 years old today because Lisa's birthday is on 04/03/1967. Barry Minkow is a convicted conman, and he believes anyone can find redemption. is worth $1 billion to the company that was. As of 2022, Barry Minkow’s Net worth is $90 million. $583 million in restitution. Also Read: Barry Minkow Net Worth, Wife, Gay, Married. ”. What Is The Net Worth Of Barry Minkow? Once an owner of a multi-million dollar carpet cleaning company, today Barry Minkow’s net worth does not even close to $100,000. report certified a net worth of over $1 million, even though the company was in fact insolvent and had debts of over $200,000 in excess of its assets. 5-million fine if convicted on all counts. Its were worth a fraction of the initial $300 million valuation when they were auctioned (just $64,000). Members Savings: $17. Minkow's stake was worth $100 million. Apr 7, 2021. 31, 1987. As soon as he could, he sold some stock and paid cash for a Mercedes. Name: Shawn Merriman Amount: $21M Victims: 67 investors, including his own mother The Con: Merriman, investment broker and lay bishop, defrauded LDS members by creating an "elite fund", and people turned over money in droves—even though he mentioned that he was not a licensed professional. At the age of 16, Minkow started a. Net Worth. Hall in the 2018 crime drama film Con Man, based on the real-life story of Barry Minkow. “Always. 最後卻因為被. By E. Reformed fraudster falls off the wagon Former entrepreneurial whiz kid and convicted fraudster, Barry Minkow, struck a deal with federal prosecutors over his most recent fraud scheme involving Lennar Corp. Con Man: Directed by Bruce McAlester. In sentencing him Thursday, Judge Patricia Seitz also ordered him to pay $583 million in restitution. The Bible warns of people like Minkow, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. By the time he was 21, Minkow. But in truth, Barry is running a Ponzi scheme and a fraudulent, non-existent business. 4 Credits. Investigations also discovered over a $1 billion worth of errors in accounting transactions. Malvika Sitlani Height, Weight, Age, Husband, Family. Da es Barry schwerfällt, sich mit seinem Unternehmen am Markt dauerhaft zu behaupten, greift er bald auf fragwürdige Mittel zurück und beginnt, Schecks zu fälschen. 4 Credits. Barry Minkow is a 56-years-old American Businessperson from the. The Canadian businessman was sentenced to 25. Included with subscription (s): Premier Plus CPE Package. In case of any information, we will update it as soon as possible. According to one of the 81 ads for RAD running earlier this week on Facebook and its sibling social-media sites, RAD shares surged from $14. Barry Minkow > Crime:. Minkow’s attacks knocked more than $500 million off the stock market value of Lennar. At the height of. ZZZZ Best is a bankrupt company that was owned by Barry Minkow in the 1980s. The current ratio showed ZZZZ Best was recording revenue but had no cash. Cleaning Up is Barry Minkow’s comeback story-a powerful a tale of redemption and inspiration, of second chances and setting things right. 7, 1988 12 AM PT. EXCLUSIVE: Barry Minkow, who ran one of the. Minkow's secret allegedly was fraud. Online & Mobile. Barry Minkow is a former businessman and pastor who founded ZZZZ Best, a carpet cleaning company that was a front for a Ponzi scheme. The 1986 headlines proclaimed 20-year-old Barry Minkow a phenomenon as he took his multimillion dollar carpet cleaning firm public. He was born on March 22, 1966, in Inglewood, California to a Jewish family. Maryanne Trump Barry’s net worth in 2023 explored . LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply. Barry Minkow testified Thursday that he tried to hang himself in prison when he became despondent over the demands being placed on him by organized crime. Explore Barry Minkow net worth, bio, age, height, family, wiki, birthday, career, salary [Last Update 2021]! Famous Pastor Barry Minkow was born on March 22, 1966 in Inglewood. Net Worth: – $612 million. In 1998, Barry Jay co-founded a gym called Barry’s Bootcamp in West Hollywood. Included with subscription (s): Premier Plus CPE Package. The three-episode Discovery+ documentary series King of the Con tells the life story Barry Minkow, an infamous conman turned pastor, who subsequently robbed a church of $3 million dollars. Minkow was once known as a whiz-kid who gained national fame as a 16-year-old after founding ZZZZ Best, a carpet-cleaning company, in the garage of his Reseda home in 1982. 100 GB is $19. ZZZZ. Just one year later the newspapers told a different story, one of inconceivable fraud and embezzlement. Prosecutors won a concession of their own when Kenner agreed not to oppose introduction of evidence that Minkow forged more than $7,000 worth of stolen insurance. His unshakable faith in the prospects for his company and all of the media attention he was getting. Next. He became a Wall Street. org . The rest of the story is sadly. Contemporary Books Inc. At age 16, Barry Minkow founded a company called ZZZZ Best Carpet Cleaning. Please note: To be eligible for CPE credit, you must complete the final exam within one year of. 2 GB is free. We have 0 solutions for your book! Solutions. Included with subscription (s): Premier Plus CPE Package. 4m in sales for the nine months ended Jan. A. Barry Minkow - Speaker *Convicted Fraudster *The ACFE does not compensate convicted fraudsters Show More John D. ZZZZ Best Carpet Cleaning Co. let’s check out the Barry’s personal and public life facts, Wikipedia, bio, spouse, net worth, and career details. Barry Minkow faces a federal judge in downtown San Diego for sentencing in a theft of $3 million in church funds By Paul Krueger, R. simpson of 1988 08:28 – i went into prison / the mob wanted to kill me 09:23 – michael saved barry minkow’s life 10:10 – the zzzz best scheme takeawayBarry Minkow started ZZZZ Best Carpet at age 16. He became a Wall Street star when he was 20 as the youngest person at that time to take a company public. Crime seems to follow him. Barry: The Afterlife After being released from jail in 1995, Minkow became a preacher and a fraud investigator, and he spoke at schools about ethics. But ZZZZ Best turned. Disclamer: Barry Minkow net worth are calculated by comparing Barry Minkow's influence on Google, Wikipedia, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with anybody else in the world. Pastor John Gray has accumulated quite a considerable amount of wealth through his various television projects, books, and endorsements. By admin June 20, 2023. In May 2005, Mr. Barry Minkow is a previous American money manager who established a floor covering cleaning and reclamation organization. “Cleaning Up is Barry Minkow’s comeback story — a powerful a tale of redemption and inspiration, of second chances and setting things right. , a publicly traded carpet cleaning company, in the 1980s. The shameless fraudster, who has been running cons for 26 years, "pleaded guilty in. Touré revealed about their wedding only on 23 November 2014 and said that it was a beautiful sunset ceremony on a fine beach. , a publicly traded carpet cleaning. As of this date, Lisa is married. Barry Minkow Net Worth 2021: Wiki Bio, Age, Height. who had bought $25 worth of flowers at a company Minkow secretly owned and found themselves with an unauthorized $611 charge. Lennar's stock price tumbled $500 million in two days -- 20% of its value -- and Lennar filed libel and extortion lawsuits against Minkow. It went well. Barry Minkow, the owner of this business, claimed that this carpet cleaning company of the 1980s would become the "General Motors of carpet cleaning.