Barry Minkow Is The Transition From A Convict To A Fraud- Buster Real When Barry Minkow was released from prison in 1995 where he had spent more than seven years for committing securities and bank fraud media and people believed his claims that he was a changed man. There seemed to be much truth in this assertion, when Barry became Director of the Bible Institute and Pastor of Evangelism at the Church of Rocky Peak in California. All doubts about his integrity came to rest when he started the Fraud Discovery Institute, claiming that his years in prison had made him aware of the mistakes he had committed and through this institute he wanted to prevent others from committing the same errors.
All seemed to be going well for this convict turned self-proclaimed whistle blower until it became known that Fraud Discovery Institute was nothing more than a puppet organization used by Barry Minkow for gaining personal profits by leveling unconfirmed accusations on major companies and causing their share prices to plummet significantly. Now the mask of spirituality and goodwill is being lifted from the face of this king of fraud after the Miami Court ruling became public. Now it’s becoming increasingly clear that he never intended to mend his ways and this institute of his which was allegedly set up for detecting and exposing corporate fraud was just eyewash.
What helped Barry Minkow most was the perpetual support of media, which was so taken in by his wonder-boy image that they failed to check out even the basic details of the man whom they were idolizing. Even after his conviction and his subsequent release, Minkow was able to garner sufficient media attention and create the image of an upstanding Christian fraud-buster, amongst the masses. Many major nation news channels have done special stories about him and some have even been putting him on their shows as a fraud expert!
However, not many people are aware of the fact that Minkow has been under the scrutiny of Sec since January 2010.
In Dec 2010, a Miami judge ruled against Minkow in a lawsuit filed against him by Lennar Corp., a major home building company. The judge in her ruling said that Barry Minkow “will lie plain and simple” and that he has lost his credibility. Exposing his recent activities, LA Weekly brought a clear picture of Minkow before its readers under the headline “Barry Minkow 2.0”. However, most of his transgressions have gone unreported by other news agencies that still portray Minkow up as a reformed fraud buster and Christian pastor.