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The ZZZZ Best Scam Man: Brian Minkow · Minor Mischief Podcast

• riverside zzzz best scam man brian minkow minor mischief feed: happens when a 15 year old boy decides that school, friends, and somebody's daughter is the least of his concerns and he would rather build a business and scam for a living. This is the Minor Mischief Podcast and this is the story of the Z Best Scam man, Brian Minko. Welcome back to another episode of the Minor Mischief Podcast, a true crime podcast where we discuss the crimes of young people. I'm your host and homegirl for the time being, Mrs. Kiana Amir. And thank you for hanging out with me. Listen, now y'all know. Y'all know I love a good true crime story. ID channel goes crazy at my house, and we keep our Hulu subscription purely for reasonable doubt. Well, I can't speak for my husband, but me. I keep our Hulu subscription purely for reasonable doubt, Bob's burgers, and all the true crime shows that my little heart can handle. Tubi also has some good ones, but y'all didn't hear that from me. it's very hit and miss, but they do have some good ones. Nightmare Next Door, I liked For My Man. I I watch For My Men if there's a specific story. That I'm interested in. let's say there's a story that I heard somewhere else that I'm just like, ooh, there's a for my man episode on this. Any other time, I can't. I genuinely I cannot do for my man because I I just I've been yelling at the TV so hard, I'm like, I can't, I cannot. But usually when we're talking true crime, especially on this show, we're talking about teenage criminals. We're discussing violence, murder, or some other absolutely unhinged behavior. But since I'm a wee bit traumatized from last week's research. And due to my overwhelming work schedule, I decided to whip out my finest Joanne the Scammer fake fur, pour myself some juice in a wine glass, and let's talk about some good old white collar crime, friend. Now, what were you doing at 15 years old? Because at 15, I was worried a little bit about school, whether or not my job was going to approve the time off I requested for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because if they didn't PTO prepare the others, I was not going to be there in spirit or in flesh. Amen. I was worried about my friends at 15. I was worried about somebody's dusty son who should just absolutely remain nameless and had no business taking up that much space in my teenage brain. And I mean that with my whole chest. Our mischief maker this week though, honey, he was worried about payroll. He was worried about business loans. He was worried about corporate expansion. And eventually, he was worried about how to keep an entire multimillion dollar financial enterprise built fraudulently from falling apart. He sounds like an American to me. And before anybody starts yawning or thinking I'm about to give y'all a lecture on accounting, please know that number one, I hate math. I'm sorry to all the math enthusiasts out there. I have just never, I don't get math. I don't. and my high school math teacher used to always tell me, math is black or white. it's it's either this or it's that. No matter how you work it, you should be coming to the same conclusion. Apparently, I live in a gray area because I have never been able to reach that conclusion properly. But friend, when I tell you the story has everything. Hang on to your boxers or your panty draws, cause this story was crazy and quite genius if I do say so myself. So today we are taking things back. Way back with my mind on my money and my money on my mind. I know that's not what he said, but that's what you're getting out of me. So grab your espresso martini, your wine, your emotional support blanket, or those files on your desk that you've been meaning to get through. Mm-hmm. they need to get done. We're in fourth quarter. we gotta wrap this up. But we're heading back to the 1980s, to the wood. Inglewood, California, to be exact. Inglewood, California, aka the City of Champions, sits about 13 miles south of LA and hosts all the teams' stadiums, child. They house the SoFi Stadium where the Rams and the Chargers play. I would honestly hate to live there because the traffic on game day, baby. Honey! I cannot. Randy's donuts is also there. the donut place that with the big sign that we see in all the movies? That's in Inglewood. Didn't the show Insecure take place in Englewood? That was such a good show. Inglewood is known for its thriving music scene and apparently amazing soul food restaurants and community business districts like Market Street. Shout out to the small business owners. Inglewood hosts approximately 102,000 residents. And while I was researching Inglewood's Our sister Google from the web congregation, she let me know that Englewood is no longer considered the hood. Completely unprovoked, because I never asked her that. But that was great, sister Google. I'm keeping my eyes on you because why did you feel the need to mention that? In Englewood, we meet Barry Minko, who is our mischief maker and multiple, and I mean dozens of grown-up investors who are our victims. Barry J. Minko was born on March 22nd, 1966, in Inglewood, California to his parents, Robert and Carol Minko. Barry is the youngest of three children. And when he was about four years old, his family moved to Reseda, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, which is probably the city that I should have spoken about, because that's where he grew up and that's where he started his business. But so I had Inglewood on the brain. My bad. Now, the Mingos weren't wealthy. They were a working class family. And according to interviews Barry later gave, money could be pretty tight. His father, Robert, worked different jobs, including real estate and supervisory work, while his mother, Carol, worked in the carpet cleaning industry. Growing up, Barry was described as a hyperactive child. He was probably ADHD. One neighbor even compared him to Dennis the Menace, which, if you're familiar with Dennis the Menace, I would have been like, Why are you calling me that? But you know that is not a compliment. That means you're annoying as hell. And Mr. Wilson is tired of you. Barry was energetic, mischievous, and apparently always into something. At some point during his childhood, Barry attended Ridgewood Military Academy, where he spent approximately two years. And according to Barry, he hated it. Like it sucked harder than a vacuum, apparently. Like it sucked harder. I feel like this can get really dark, but it was it was really bad to him. It was not great to him. He claimed that he was bullied by the other students and had his nose broken multiple times. Let me tell you something. You only got one time. You got one time. You you really got half a time. That's all I'm saying. But they broke his nose multiple times. He was beat up. He was picked on. It was just not a good time. Barry also remembered feeling embarrassed by his family's financial struggles, which I don't really they struggling, they just were paycheck to paycheck. And maybe back in the day people weren't paycheck to paycheck, but nowadays it's pretty much normal. It it just is what it is. But he recalled times where their telephone service was disconnected because his parents couldn't afford to pay the bill. And listen, there is absolutely nothing wrong with growing up without a lot of money. There's like, I can't name a utility that didn't get cut off in my childhood or my early adulthood. When we couldn't afford to pay the lights, me and my baby dad, we would pack up our groceries and go sleep at his parents' house until we could do better. I've been there. You are not talking to somebody that hasn't been there. But for Barry, those experiences made him determined to become wealthy. And I get it. I get it, because why would you want to live like that, right? Barry was raised in a Jewish family, and by all accounts, he grew up in a relatively ordinary, regular, degular, schmegular. Suburban environment. There isn't much reliable public information about his siblings or the family's relationship. there weren't any open CPS cases or DCF cases. There weren't any outside of the bullying, there was no abuse that we knew of in the home. His parents weren't out drinking or doing drugs that we know of. they worked, they came home, they took care of their kids, they paid their bills. But sometimes money could be tight. Barry developed an interest in business at a very young age. And unlike most kids who have to wait until they're teenagers to get his first job, Barry entered the workforce while he was still in elementary school. When Barry was approximately nine years old, his mother was like, Listen, we cannot afford child care. So when you go to school, after school, you're gonna come to work with me. And she helped him get a job at the carpet cleaning company where she worked, which I'm just like, child labor? Hello? was that When he was nine, Barry, well, being Barry, he was not about to just sit there and work the mailroom. He was not about to sit there and clean desks. He learned the job. He learned the job. He was learning how the business operated above just call center. And soon he started making telephone calls. Soon he started having his own clientele, his own customer base. And he learned the art of how to convince people to purchase carpet cleaning services. And I thought about that. I'm like, could you imagine you're just chilling and your phone rings and you pick up the phone and you're just like, hello? And it's the sweetest little nine-year-old voice trying to sell you carpet cleaning. Depending on how good his little sales pitch was. Actually, no. I I would have I'm so sorry, sweetheart. No. I don't need you to clean my carpet. But thank you for calling. But Barry did well. he built his own base. He had his own stuff going on. And pretty soon, He was outperforming some of the adults at his job and he was nine years old. I have to I got I admire the hustle. Now, this experience gave Barry something that would become incredibly valuable later in life. He learned how to sell. He learned how to talk to people. And most importantly, he learned how to make people believe him. And that I think is the beginning of his undoing. Because by the time he was a teenager, Barry understood the carpet cleaning business better than a Adults who were just like, let's say there's a new person on the job. Barry is a seasoned vet. Okay. He knows what he's doing. He knows how to do the calls. He knows his sale pitch. He could sell ice to an Eskimo. literally, Barry was that kid. So it's 1981. And Barry decides, like, you know what? If I'm gonna keep making money for somebody else, I can very well make and pocket my own money. And so he's 15 years old at this time, and he Barry turns in his notice. And he retired from the carpet cleaning sales business and he decides to become a business owner. He wanted to work for himself. He wanted his own money. He wanted his own schedule. And frankly, I can't be mad at it because me too, Barry. Me too. I w I just want my time. I want my time back. But that is a different rant for a different day. So Barry starts a carpet cleaning company called Z Best Carpet Cleaning. And it's spelled Z Z Z Z. Cause when I've First started researching this case, I was like Z, Z, Z, Z. But it's actually Z best. And according to Barry, the company is spelled with four Z. And he chose four Z because he wanted four children someday. And I guess we've all done it. When I was in high school, I wanted five kids and I already had them named. And now that I have four, baby, I want to be fixed. I think four is plenty. Now, some later accounts date the company's beginnings to 1982 and describe Barry as 16, but most reporting does identify him as 15. So, contrary to what I do in my personal life, I'm gonna follow the majority. Barry starts this carpet cleaning company, The Best Carpets, out of his parents' garage in Reseda. He started his company with about $6,200 in savings. Three employees and four telephones because what he would do, the garage was basically converted into a call center setup. They would take the calls, make the calls, and book the appointments. And then Barry and the other guy would go out and actually service the clients, carpets. Barry's parents, they were not, they were not enthused about this idea initially. They hated the idea. Like, They literally were just like when he came to them with the idea like, hey, mom, hey, dad, I want to start this carpet cleaning business. His mom was like, absolutely not. And his dad was like, I think hell no. And eventually, Barry's just like, listen, I have $6,200 saved up, which by today's inflation standards, $22,981 is what this 15-year-old boy had saved. Let me know which $15 year old that has $22,981 in their bank account. Quick. I need names. I need names. Cause I think my 16-year-old has $150 saved at the last time I checked his account and he probably spent that. Barry was determined though, and he worked out a deal with his parents to pay $150 a month to lease the garage space for use during his business venture. And they agreed because it's like, listen, it's an extra $150 a month. We don't need to park in the garage anyway. Let's let him have it. And so Barry starts. And Barry, you know, pretty quickly starts running into challenges because he was so young that he couldn't even legally drive himself to his own cleaning appointments. But you can't keep a good boy down because he was able to barter with some of his older friends for gas money, food or cigarettes or whatever. And they would transport him and his equipment to his customers' homes to get the jobs done. Despite his age and having every reason in the book to quit, Barry took his business very seriously. He went to Grover Cleveland High School during the day, go Cavaliers. And that's a charter school located in Roseda. And he was going to school during the day. And after school, he was managing employees. He was processing payroll. He was scheduling appointments. He was taking appointments, making sure the books were looking good. And he was growing his business. He cracked the code that I'm now trying to crack at the age of 37. Running a business is difficult though. even if you're an adult with a car, a bank account, and a fully developed understanding of taxes, doing it at 15 comes with its own challenges. Initially, ZBest offered a pretty straightforward service. It's carpet cleaning at a competitive price. He ran a deal where he cleaned two rooms for $39.95. And what gave Barry an advantage against the others in the carpet cleaning industry is much like people do today, back then with carpet cleaning, what they would do is they would market it, let's say for $49.95. Barry was selling his for $39.95. So he was already cheaper than the competition. And with their $49.95, they had add-on fees. It's kind of like I bought my cell phone, right? And now I have this county tax charge. And now I have this charge. And now I have that charge when the advertised price, ATT, was $45 a line. Barry wasn't doing that. He was just like, it's $39.95 plus tax. That's all you're gonna pay. That's it. That's all. And he really won over a lot of clientele because they were just like, we love his honest, straightforward pricing. And to this in 2026, I love honest, straightforward pricing. I just find that in 2026, it's harder and harder to find honest straightforward pricing. But I'm not gonna go on a rant about that. That's neither here nor there. Barry is cleaning and he has his team and everything is going well, but If the money coming in is not enough to cover the money going out and pay its CEO, then you're broke. And Barry was broke. Very broke. His business accounts were reportedly closed by two banks because California law limited a miner's ability to enter binding contracts. Barry Like I said, he also had a little cash flow problem. He had more going out than what was coming in. He had employees to pay, equipment to purchase, suppliers that expected payment, and customers who sometimes complained about services. And what do people like to do when the service was not performed up to par? They want their money back. And instead of slowing down, reducing expenses, asking for help, Barry began scheming. There were times his employees, like his initial employees, said that he struggled to make payroll. They were basically working for free. And it couldn't have been me. So Barry starts what's called check hiding. And for those of us who are not financial criminals, and I guess for those of us who wanna be, allow me to set the scene. Remember that Kevin Hart stand up when he was talking about transferring money from his checkings to his savings and it takes three business days for the money to move or whatever. Well, check kiting is essentially taking advantage of the time it takes for money to move between bank accounts. So what Barry would do, he had two accounts that remained open, or maybe it was three, but he had multiple accounts that remained open. And he would write a check from the first account to the second account, deposit the check into the second account. Funds were available without being cleared by the first bank. And he would take that money, put it in the third bank account along with writing a check to the third bank account. So now he has double and he would take that money out. And it really made me wonder if that was the reason his accounts closed and not because of his age. Because all the articles were just he had two accounts closed because of his age. I'm just like, no, he probably had two accounts closed because of those bad checks. But that's neither here nor there. But this is what Barry did to keep Z Best afloat. Barry also reportedly stole and sold jewelry belonging to his grandmother to obtain money. And Barry, this is where smart little hustle, but I would never. Your grandmother's jewelry, my grandmother would have ripped my spine out of my behind and beat me with it had I stolen and sold her jewelry for my failing business. My grandmother would have killed me. my gosh. Barry was also reported to have staged burglaries at his business locations to collect insurance money. Not committing insurance fraud at 15. My little John the scammer. So as time is progressing and he's doing these things without recourse, he's getting bolder. And he's no longer a teenager who's just like making some questionable business decisions. He is like fully scaling fraud. It's 1984 now, and Barrett graduates high school. And here's the funny part. In his senior superlatives, he was voted both most likely to succeed and class clown. I wonder what mine was. I really need to go find my earbook. By this time, Z Best had expanded considerably. His company is now three years old and he had 80 employees and operated out of three offices. I want to know who gave him an office outside his parents' garage and why he needed three of them. And why did he need 80 employees? But Barry was he was making money. Regardless of Z Best's success, behind the scenes, the company was still struggling. And Barry was doing his best to keep his company afloat no matter what it took. Z Best became involved in a fraudulent credit card billing scheme. So remember how I told y'all that Barry had straightforward pricing $39.95. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. And that covers two rooms. Customers were handing over their credit card information. And they were getting overcharged. This isn't like nowadays where we can just see our transactions in real time. They had to wait for their statements to come in before they even knew what was charged. And sometimes that took months. So I'm not talking about a little extra $20 here. I'm not talking about a little $75 there. Barry had one customer, her name was Lucille Frost. And Barry sold her the upgraded package. So she paid her $75 for her carpet cleaning, gets her credit card statements 60 days later. She had over $3,000 in charges from a $75 service. Barry would have had to see me. I was going to his house, I was knocking on that door, and I was telling his mammy and his daddy that he scammed me. There was no way he would have had to see me. And I would go from there based on their reaction because they can either be enraged with me or they're gonna be part of my wrath. Another customer, James Richmond, reported being billed. $1,790 for approximately $100 worth of carpet cleaning. Additionally, a woman named Barbara Lee said she paid by check but still discovered a huge amount taken out of her account. According to reports, ZBest had generated approximately $72,000 in credit card charges during late 1984 and early 1985. By today's standards, that's two hundred and thirty-three thousand four hundred and ninety dollars and sixty-six cents that Barry skimmed out of those people. But Barry had a plan though. See, he was not about to take the blame. He was not. He is still, he just graduated high school. He started this company at 14. He was still cute in the face, I suppose, because he was just like, absolutely not. Y'all are lying on my name, and I did not take that money off your credit cards. My business is expanding. This is on you. And so Barry is just like, I have to shift the focus. I gotta shift the focus because the these people are coming down my throats. We gotta move away from residential. So Barry then takes his company Z Best and he turns it into an insurance restoration business. Now, insurance restoration by itself is a legitimate industry. I've never heard of it, but that doesn't mean it's any less real. Insurance restoration is where a company or a commercial building experiences a fire, flooding, or some other type of disaster. The insurance company pays a restoration business to clean up the damage and repair the property. These projects can be worth hundreds or thousands or even millions of dollars. So Barry realizes he's just like, wait, this is actually a great place to shift my focus. We're already done with the carpet cleaning. We got a bunch of angry people at our door. Let's move into commercial. Like it's more layers to go through. It'll take them longer to figure it out. So Barry at this point is just like, okay, I gotta think. I gotta sit in my thinking chair and think, think, think. He's like, I need investors, but how can I get investors to believe me? So Barry starts creating a fake insurance restoration portfolio. And the companies that he claimed to be contracted by. Did not actually exist. Barry created paperwork to make it look like they existed and he solicited help. Barry worked with an insurance claim adjuster named Tom Paget, who became an important participant in this particular scheme. Together they created fictitious documentation supporting supposed restoration projects. A company called Interstate Appraisal Services was used to verify the legitimacy of these projects, except Interstate appraisal services was also made up by Barry. So Barry had a fake company insuring another fake company under the name of his real company that he changed so that people would get off his back about basically fraudulently charging their credit card. The false restoration contracts did work. They allowed ZBest to report revenues it had not actually earned, helping them secure loans that they did not qualify for. And those inflated financial statements helped Barry attract investors. Because who would not want to get in on a profitable insurance restoration business? Insurance, insurance is big business. regardless of my disdain for insurance, because to me, I feel like insurance is the best waste of money you can have. Because you can literally pay insurance. I have paid on my auto insurance. I'm 37. I have been on my own insurance since I was about 22. I have paid all those years incident free. My husband got a speeding ticket. Our insurance went up $100. I'm like, I've never even been pulled over, bro. Like, what are we doing here? I've been paying you people faithfully. This is not about me. This is Barry's story. Now, when the investment money started rolling in, the company used the real money obtained from lenders and investors to finance its continued expansion. And as the operation grew, so did the lies. The lies. All of its lies. None of it's true. as his business grew, his lies grew and his schemes grew. So it's now November 1986. And some of Barry's investors are just like, listen, we've been investing in you for about two years now. We need to, we want to take a quick visit, right? That seems like a fair ask. We just want to know what our money is working towards. what do you guys do on a daily basis? We want to take a field trip. So Barry and his associates, they're just like, shoot, they want to see a site. We got to come up with something that we got to come up with this quick. So Barry did not stop at creating fake documents. He purchased a building and staged a restoration site at a commercial building in Sacramento, California. So the day comes and his investors and his colleagues, they're all in this meeting and they're just like, all right, you guys want to go see what we're working towards, what your money is working on. And they go over to this building that was for this project worth approximately $7 million in water damage. Barry and his team arranged for the building to appear as though they were fixing it. The location was presented as a real Z Best project. There were real workers and other businesses close by to say, yeah, they've been working on that building for a while. Where is he finding these people? Because for him to have been doing this now for five years and not a soul has ratted him out, everybody's just like, yep. But I guess that's the difference between white-collar crime and murder. Cause with white-collar crime, it's like, shoot, you still gotta go through a bunch of paper to actually get me on something. Because remember. It's been two years and he still has not answered for those fraudulent credit card charges. So, by all accounts, he's doing pretty good. Regardless, Barry's little his little fake restoration center worked. The inspection helped reinforce the false impression that Z Best was performing lucrative restoration projects and he got more money. According to investigative reported, approximately 86% of the revenue shown in ZBES records. Came from insurance restoration, meaning all of Barry's business at this point was fake. All of it at this point was fake. By the mid-1980s, Barry Minko, he was kind of a celebrity in his own right. Like, and it's not difficult to understand why people were fascinated with him. He had just graduated high school. He started a successful, at this point, multimillion dollar business when he was 15 years old out of his parents' garage. And he was becoming a millionaire. Barry had what a lot of people wish they could pay for. He was charismatic. He was energetic. And like I said earlier, Barry knew how to sell, not just his products, but he knew how to sell himself. He appeared in ads for Z Z Best, for Z Best, excuse me. He hired PR professionals. He published an autobiography called Making It in America, 18 years old and 1 million dollars. And yes, he wrote a book about becoming a millionaire. And it was all a lie. It was all a lie. Barry's book was ghostwritten and self-published, and it helped reinforce the image of Barry as this extraordinary young entrepreneur. He was featured in business publications and received public recognition for his success. In 1985, Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley even recognized Barry for his entrepreneurial accomplishments. Barry also donated money to charitable causes and participated in anti-drug campaigns. He was probably doing a lot of coke. I ain't even gonna hold you. This was the 80s. And he was a millionaire. That man was doing coke. I don't care what nobody says. Barry, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he was doing coke. So as Barry is becoming this public image, people are gaining trust for him because they see this young, charismatic kid with this award-winning smile. He's a millionaire. Investors, they loved him. They saw the fake numbers on paper. They saw his portfolio. They're just like, this kid is really going places. He was a young man who had supposedly proven that hard work and determination can make anybody wealthy. And Barry made sure everybody knew he was wealthy. He was beginning to enjoy the lifestyle of a wealthy young executive. If only it wasn't a lie. In late 1985, while Reagan was on his second presidency and Route 66 was demolished, We Are the World was blasting through everyone's speakers. Barry purchased a home in Woodland Hills, California to play We Are the World out Loud in his floor speakers, without upsetting his neighbors. Barry's new home at that time carried a beautiful price tag of $698,000 or $2.1 million by 2026 standards. And he needed something to adorn his driveway too, right? he wasn't just about to have this beautiful house and be, I don't know, Uber didn't exist. So I guess taking a taxi everywhere? No. Barry purchased a bright red Ferrari to park in his beautiful driveway. And I think this is where a lot of scammers and a lot of like schemers lose the plot. Because I'm not saying don't have nice things because ain't chicken if you got it. But It's pretty audacious to buy a Ferrari and a $2.1 million house on money that you know is fake. That's just me though. Apparently, nothing says I'm a responsible young American businessman, quite like pulling up to a meeting in a Ferrari before you're old enough to rent a car without the extra fees. Barry also became interested in bodybuilding and spent considerable time working on his physique. He was working on his fitness. And remember, he was previously bullied. And he was insecure about his appearance. So he wanted to make sure that the haters gagged when they thought of him. I concur. Lord prepared table for me in the presence of my enemies. Okay. Okay. Now Barry's getting older. He's getting wealthier. And at this point, he is setting his sights on more and more. And the bigger he became, the more of an asshole he became, frankly. According to his employees, Barry was demanding and arrogant. And by this point, he's like what, 19, 20 years old? He expected people to address him formally as Mr. Minko. Even his own mother had to call him Mr. Minko. First of all, why is she working for him when you started this business in my garage? Second of all, she put him up on game. She should be getting royalties or something. Cause imagine birthing, raising a child, putting him onto his first job, allowing him to use your garage to start his business. He hires you and he has the nerve to walk up in there like you didn't change his stinky ass. When he was a baby, and tell you to call him Mr. Minko in front of everybody. I'll be Barry, if you don't get the hell out of my face, I'm gonna do my job and I'm going to earn my paycheck. But if you don't get the hell out of my face, Barry, respectfully fire me. Cause I could find another job before you. But that's just me. That's just me. So as a result of Barry's business growth and always keeping up on what his next move should be, on January twentieth, nineteen eighty-six. ZBest became a publicly traded company through a merger with an existing corporate shell called Morningstar Investments. And for those of you like myself who don't know what a corporate shell is, it's another fake company. This means that investors can purchase shares of ownership in ZBest, which would make Barry more money because he was the majority owner at the time. Listen, Barry's looking with how to keep up with his lifestyle because he had a very expensive mortgage and a Ferrari payment to keep up with. So instead of just borrowing money from banks and private investors, the business made more money by selling stock. Z Best at this point, it's 1986. Barry, he's still 19. He hadn't yet turned 20 by the time Z Best started becoming publicly traded. It it was no longer a small carpet cleaning company. Like it's now a conglomerate. Like his stock prices were high. By early 1987, Z Best. Shares were $18. And Barry, who, like I said, still owned a substantial percentage of the company, he became worth more than a hundred million dollars on paper. Don't forget the on paper part because being worth a hundred million dollars in stock is not the same thing as having a hundred million dollars in your checking account. And I don't think our friend Barry knew the difference, but it certainly made Barry look very successful. ZBust eventually grew into 21 offices and hired more than a thousand employees across California, Nevada, and Arizona. So his scheme is interstate at this point. But I couldn't imagine, like, out of those a thousand employees just showing up to work one day, and I know this has happened, like, because we've heard stories, right? But I cannot imagine showing up to work one day and the building was boarded up because the company's a scam. Would be livid. I'll be like, am I still getting paid for the hours that I worked? Cause that's the law. You still gotta pay me. But I'll be pissed. Especially like for the people who've been there since early days. I would be so pissed. Cause I just gave my I gave my life. No, maybe not my life, because it's the company is only six years old. But I gave six years to this damn company and it was all a lie. I'd be so mad. So it's 1997 now and Barry's getting ready to turn 21. And he's at an age where his friends were now graduating college. But Barry was running a publicly traded company and being celebrated as a business genius. He appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in April 1987. And during his Oprah appearance, Barry confidently, confidently boasted about his ability to sell practically anything. He was like, baby, I could sell water to a mermaid. I'm really that guy. And technically, on a technicality, he was not telling a complete lie. He had managed to sell investors on a business model supported by millions of dollars in fabricated revenue. And they fell for it. Now, remember those fraudulent credit card charges that I mentioned earlier? The ones involving the customers who were outraged because their $75 cleaning service was costing them $3,500? Them. They never went away. And in May 1987, they came back. To haunt Barry because they're just like, you are Oprah and you still have not paid me my $3,000. So they went to the media. And on May 22nd, 1987, the Los Angeles Times published an investigative article by journalist Daniel Axed. And the article detailed allegations that Z Best had improperly charged customers credit cards. It included accounts from people who said they had been billed far more than they actually owed. And suddenly, People wanted to know what Barry had to say about all this. One 1987 article written by Alan Abelson called his company The Best of Times and The Worst of Times. Yalla Pette. Yalla Pete. Now, this really put Barry under a microscope because his company at this point, I mean, you're being traded publicly. You're worth millions of dollars. Why would a company that's generating millions of dollars in revenue be fraudulently charging their customers credit cards? Why did the company have such a troubling financial history? And what else was happening behind the scenes? So this article triggered increased scrutiny from investors and from lenders and financial professionals. And I'm sure Barry was in his mansion punching air. Like Trey from Boys in the Hood. Like I know he was in there punching air. He probably wanted to square up with Daniel Axe quickly because after that article was run, the best stock price fell dramatically. Once the public began questioning the company's finances, Barry was just like, I'm not about to take this. Laying down. But he couldn't move fast enough. His publicly constructed image that was so perfect and pristine fell apart. And people started leaving. They were packing their bags and they were out. The company's investment banker, Drexel Burnham Lambert, withdrew from its relationship with ZBest. His auditing firm, Ernst and Winnie, also resigned. But what exactly were y'all auditing anyway? I guess they're just looking at the paper trail, but I'm like, no real auditor would have fallen for that, right? Right? Now ZBest was facing a major financial problem because of all of this. A publicly traded company has to have financial professionals willing to stand on business about them. And when those professionals start walking away, I don't know what to tell you, honey. But people started asking more and more questions. And now, you know, the word is spreading, people are talking, everyone's just like, Yeah, did you hear about Z Best? And my gosh, what's going on with them? And my gosh, like. The the their investors are walking away. And Barry is like feeling the weight of all of this. And so now, as these questions are being asked, an investigation is launched because Barry, you should know the answers to these questions. Now, further investigation reveals serious questions about the company's insurance restoration business. And it began to show that those multimillion dollar contracts weren't real. It showed that the supporting documents to back up those contracts also fake the independent verification, the scheme that Todd set up to come to you with the bull. And the revenue as imaginary as that lady from TikTok's journey through PA school. Due to these cracks, Barry's empire, his teenage fraud turned multi-million dollar business began to collapse at the very foundation. By the summer of 1987, Barry was running out of options. Mind you, he was on Oprah in January. It's now July. The article was published, what, in April? And Barry is like he's crumbling. His mansion was probably in foreclosure at this point because he had nothing. The company stock continued to lose value. Investigators were packing up. They were panicking because they're just like, we're about to lose a ton of money. Financial institution was. They were demanding answers and they wanted their money back. Cause it's like, Barry, we done gave you these loans, baby. You need to pay them. But he has nothing to pay them because his investors are backing out. And literally, this entire thing was built off of investment money. And so now the investigation is getting bigger and bigger because the business is facing allegations of fraud. So Barry is just like, you know what? I see that y'all are gone. I'm gonna cut ties too. And he resigned. From Z Best in July 1987. So ZBest from 1981 to 1987 earned over a hundred million dollars off of fake records. On July 6th, 1987, the company announced that it would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the remaining leadership filed lawsuits against Barry and several associates, accusing them of fraud and theft. The company's stock, which what like I said before, Was above $18 per share, had fallen to about 75 cents at the time of the bankruptcy announcement. And while Barry had been living in a mansion and driving a Ferrari, investors and financial institutions, they were like, Where did our money go? Our money was working fine, and then one day it was not, because that's literally how quick it came. The company that had been promoted as an example of American entrepreneurship had become One of the most notorious financial fraud scandals of the decade, and things were about to get messy. Now, y'all already know that when investigators start digging into a financial crime, sometimes they find a whole lot more than they expected. ZBest was no exception to that rule. Authorities began examining Z Best financial records, loans, business relationships, and alleged fraudulent activities. Investigators uncovered evidence of fabricated insurance contracts. False financial statements, fraudulent credit card transactions, and other deceptive business practices. There were also allegations involving individuals with organized crime connections. In the words of my good friend Naruto, believe it! One individual connected to ZBest was Jack Catan Jr., who had been identified by Los Angeles law enforcement as an organized crime figure. Jack. Reportedly helped arrange financing for the company. And Barry later claimed that some of those loans carried extremely high interest rate. I know a loan shark story when I hear one. Also, in July 1987, Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates publicly alleged that ZBES had been involved in laundering proceeds connected to organized crime and narcotics trafficking. This does not prove. That Barry did coke, but I'm telling y'all, I believe that Barry did coke. Regardless of, you know, the organized crime allegations, the narcotics allegations. The FBI was just like, listen, we don't care about none of that. We're here to talk about the fraud. We're here to talk about that. We don't necessarily care about your money laundering. They'll get jacked in the future. We're focused on this. Eventually, federal prosecutors decided it was time for Barry to face the consequences. And in January 1988, when Barry was still 21, federal prosecutors announced a sweeping indictment involving Barry and several of his associates. The allegations described an elaborate scheme designed to obtain millions of dollars from banks and investors through fraudulent financial statements, fabricated contracts, and deceptive business practices. Additional charges followed as investigators continued to examine the company's activities. By the time Barry went to trial, prosecutors had assembled extensive evidence about his schemes. They described how ZBEST used fake insurance restoration contracts to convince financial institutions that the company was earning substantial revenue. They presented evidence involving staged inspections, false documentation, and financial transactions that helped support the deception. And the prosecution argued that Barry was not simply just some inexperienced young businessman who didn't know what he was doing and made a few mistakes. They said Barry was the head honcho. Now, he was only a teenager when he started lying and scheming his way out of business closure. And it would be easy to say that he was overwhelmed and experienced and trying to save a struggling business. And while that's true, it did not make him less of a liar. The evidence presented at trial described the deliberate intent. That Barry displayed. It wasn't one bad check. It wasn't a bookkeeping error. It was a series of increasingly elaborate schemes. Cause let's face it, you went from charging those people credit card extra to building this fake insurance restoration business. And they showed how his schemes and lies got bigger and bigger and bigger over time. On December 14, 1988, a federal jury found Barry Minko guilty on fifth. 57 counts of fraud. He was collecting federal convictions like brand new Jays. Fifty seven? my gosh. The verdict confirmed that the celebrated young entrepreneur had been responsible for immense fraud. And now the question is how much time is he gonna spend behind bars? On March 27, 1989, Barry appeared in court for sentencing. By this time, he's 23 years old. no. Yeah, he's 23. He had just by this time he had just turned 23, because his birthday is March 22nd. During the hearing, Barry acknowledged his wrongdoing and expressed remorse. He also admitted that he enjoyed aspects of his fraudulent lifestyle. He's just like, I loved my house. I loved my car. I loved being on a magazine. I loved meeting Oprah Winfrey. I loved taking vacations in Saint Tropez. I loved getting girls. I loved premium Coke. I'm sorry. I don't know why I just can't let it go. I'm like, he was rich in the 80s. I'm sorry, I know he was having coke parties. I'm not gonna say it no more after this, but I'm convinced. Sorry, Barry, if you were not, but anyways, so he was honest. he told them he was just like, Was it a crappy thing to do? Yes. Did I enjoy what I got out of this crappy thing that I did? Also, yes. And so they listened. And they were just like, you know what? I appreciate your genuine ins expression of remorse. However, US District Judge Dickren Tavrizian, he was just like, Barry, I hear your story. It seems genuine, but I know you. And you would try to charm the rapper off of blow pop. So no, sir. And the judge sentenced Barry to 25 years in federal prison. He got sentenced to more time than some people do for murder. Barry was also ordered to pay approximately $26 million in restitution, and the victims weren't just wealthy financial institutions. He had to pay back his investors, employees, lender, and people who had trusted the company's financial representation. The judge made it clear that Barry's charisma and youth did not excuse the seriousness of his crime. And just like that, the teenage business sensation, who had once been worth more than a hundred million dollars on paper, was headed to federal prison. The Z-Best scandal became a major example of how financial fraud can flourish when investors and professionals become captivated by a compelling success story. Barry had managed to convince people that his company was growing at an extraordinary rate. And because the story was so appealing, a lot of people didn't question him. They were just like, you know what? You're successful, sure. I give you money. And those that did want to see records, the records that they were given were fabricated. And I it makes me wonder if they called for references. But even if they did, Barry has somebody for that too. Cause let's be honest, I know a lot of y'all be putting your friends down on your job applications, talking about, Sheila, I apply for this job and I'll put you down as my reference. So if they call you, you better answer and you better make me sound good. I know y'all be doing that. It's me, I'm y'all. I don't do it anymore. I have legitimate references now, but back in the day Girl, please answer this phone for this company. Make sure your voicemail sounds professional. Make sure you sound professional. Don't have no kids crying in the background and give me a good reference. Thank you. Barry was young. He was ambitious. He was charismatic. And he appeared to represent everything people wanted to believe about entrepreneurship in America. Spoiler alert, there is no such thing as an overnight success. The peak that you see came off the back of many lonely nights, many long hours, many tears, many lost friendships, many prayers, and many failures. This podcast is the only business venture I've been able to grow, but it is dang sure not my first. I had a hair care company. I had a candle company. I wrote a book. It's still on Amazon. I have a valid daycare LLC in the state of Florida and in the state of Connecticut that never got off the ground. I started a Christian apparel company and an athleisure company for BBWs. And granted, this podcast is still in its infancy, but it's the only thing I've ever made money off. I kid you not. So it's like it's one of those things. To be successful, you Gotta fail sometimes. That's what I keep hearing. So I'm just like, Lord, please don't let this be another failure. I'm really doing my best. Barry's story also raised serious questions about the role of auditors, bankers, investment professionals, and other individuals responsible for evaluating a company's financial condition. Barry didn't fool people with a little handwritten note saying, Trust me, bro. He fooled experienced financial professionals with elaborate documentation, staged inspections, and a carefully managed public image. And that's what made this story so wild because remember, Barry did all of this starting at the age of 15. Which brings me to where are they now? Normally this is the part of the show where we talk about what happened after our mischief maker was convicted. And with Barry Minko, y'all know this story does not end with his first prison sentence. And yes, I did say first. One massive financial fraud scandal was not enough. Barry, who was sentenced to twenty five years in prison. Only served seven and a half years. Shocker, I know. During his incarceration, he did what most prisoners do. He became involved in the Christian ministry. After his release, Barry began presenting himself as a changed man and eventually became a pastor at San Diego Community Bible Church. He also established an organization called the Fraud Discovery Institute, which was a company designed to investigate and expose fraudulent business practices. Because of anyone knows about a fraudulent business practice is gonna be Barry Mankot. But people believe Barry had changed. He spoke publicly about financial fraud. He assisted with investigations and his apparent transformation received national media attention. Unfortunately that redemption story did not last and in 2011 Barry was sentenced to another five years in federal prison for conspiring to manipulate the stock price of home builder Leonard Corporation, which a lot of us have heard of Leonard. Federal authorities said that he made false and misleading statements about the company while taking financial positions that would pay him from a decline in their stock price. What did Barry have to say about all this? I didn't do anything wrong, Your Honor. He compared Leonard to Enron and called the company a financial crime and progress. He was ordered to pay approximately $583.6 million in restitution. If that wasn't enough, Barry was also convicted in another fraud case involving his own church. This is why people have such spiritual mistrust, I swear. And it's always us Christians. It's always us. Every time, every time it's just like, church leader. I'm like, it's a Christian. I know it. Y'all gotta stop. Y'all gotta stop. Y'all gotta stop. It's either always us or we're the story they we're the stories they highlight. But my gosh, please, for the love of for the love of God, stop. Regardless, federal prosecutors said that Barry had stolen more than three million dollars from church members and other victims. my gosh. Stealing from the church. You stealing the church's money, Barry. I mean, he's not the first or the last, but Ali, Barry, a little moral compass is all we're asking for. One particularly disturbing example involved a widower who donated $75,000, believing the money would support a hospital in Sudan in memory of his deceased wife. There was no such hospital project. Barry took all that money. Another victim was a widowed grandmother, and then you plan on the dead's name. It's crazy. And she was raising her teenage granddaughter, and her daughter died, so she had custody of her granddaughter. And Barry stole approximately $300,000 from her. They I read an article with her granddaughter who basically showed all the emails between Barry and her grandma, where he's just like, I'm building this in your daughter's honor. you know, this is what we're working on. this is what the money's going toward. And meanwhile, there was no dang hospital. Like, is nuts. In 2014, Barry was arrested again and charged. He received a five year prison sentence for the church related fraud. Barry, you might really be going to hell. I I say that on the show a lot. I'm like, you could go to hell. But Barry, I don't know, you might really be going to hell. And I'm stressed for you. In a statement, Eric Martinez, a special agent in charge for the IRS criminal investigation, commented, Barry Minko skillfully operated as a predator using his trusted position as a pastor at San Diego Community Bible Church. and fraud discovery institute to fraudulently obtain over three million dollars for his own benefit. His concealment of his diversion from the IRS in an attempt to reduce his tax obligations further displays his uncanny ability to deceitfully use every mechanism to line his own pockets. Today's sentencing reinforces IRS criminal investigations commitment to investigate those who will stop at nothing. To perpetrate financial and tax crimes. Basically, in layman's terms, he was just like, Barry's a fraud. Barry really sat up in here in y'all church and he really sat up in here under this fake business, the Fraud Discovery Institute, and he swindled y'all for three million dollars, and y'all believed it. And it just shows that he's gonna do whatever he gotta do to put some money in his pockets. And I do wonder because I did not see, I'm sure it happened. I did not see anything that said the house in the car was foreclosed on, but I'm sure it happened. I know it happened because who's paying that from jail? Barry did produce a movie about his life that was released in 2018 called Con Man, starring James Kahn, Justin Baldoni, Ving Rames, and Barry Minko himself. The movie was released to reviews and faced further trouble because Barry was accused of using the church's money to fund the project. So At the end of the movie, apparently they had to change the ending because it showed Barry went on to do great things and he f formed the Fraud Discovery Institute and he's this great guy now. And it's like as they're rolling the credits, it's just like Barry's going to jail for five years. it's like we can't keep up. The movie's out there somewhere. I didn't realize that movie came out until the very end of my research. And at this point, I already got a movie that I'm watching today. So I was like, I might watch it in the future and circle back. Today, Barry is the founder of media company Fraud News Network, an investigative media platform launched in July 2026, focused on private market financial fraud, real estate syndications, and debt funds. The irony. If I catch any of y'all giving Barry $5 of your money, I'm gonna tell you off. I'm gonna bite the tires off your car. Like I'm so like we're not doing this today. We're not. Barry is fine. Y'all do not need to be donating to his GoFundMe. You guys do not need to be engaging with him on the internet. Making him maybe if you want to engage with him on the internet. that's legal money. Sure. Don't you donate to nothing that Barry has going on. You were warned. However, you can find Barry on YouTube. He has a sub stack. And I found his Instagram at Minko Barry, where his bio says he's a proactive person. financial fraud uncovering. And it also has the, I guess, tagline, educate, protect, empower. Invest safe. He has a Linktree at linktree.com slash BarryMinko. Barry may have missed his calling because he really should have been a comedian. He's funny as hell. Which brings me to my final thoughts. I have a lot of thoughts on Barry Minko. First of all, when I tell you this man enter like this man's story entertained me, I really may go back and watch the movie. I really may go back and watch the movie because I was quite entertained by Barry shenanigans. I'm not gonna lie, because I'm like, Barry's actually really smart. The first thought I have about Barry Minko is he would have gone so far in life if he did things the legit way. Because what 15 year old is able to start scale and grow a business. granted, majority of it was fraud, but he was actually doing okay. For a 15 year old with the carpet cleaning business, he had regular clientele. He had, he probably shouldn't have had the employees yet. Or maybe he should have just had one. Hey, from four to eight, you take the calls, you make the calls. Or maybe he needed two, one to take the calls and make the calls. But I feel like when you're starting a business, you don't need employees yet. Depending on the business. Like, I feel like had he done things the right way and started on his own and did what he had to do, as he started making money, he could hire help. And as he's hiring help, and as the business is growing and as Because remember, people drew to him because his prices were lower and he was honest. That's really how his first customers, they were just like, he said he's charging me $39.95, and that's what he charged me. That's what my receipt says, $39.95, until they got their credit card statement and realized that the $39.95 was $3,995. But you know, had he just stayed honest and did a good job because that was also a complaint. Some of them said that the job was crappy. But the job was crappy because he was he had probably too many clients and couldn't do what he needed to do. I always say the smartest people are the biggest criminals because why wouldn't you just use your knowledge and do things the right way? I also, like I said, I don't understand being lavish when you know your money's not clean. I would be looking over my shoulder every five minutes and I would be driving a 10-year-old Honda. Maybe a five-year-old Honda. But I'm if I know my money is not clean. I'm living average. Nobody is checking for the average one. Nobody's checking for her. That's just me. But here's my question for y'all. Do you guys think that Barry was a young entrepreneur who became so desperate to succeed that he eventually lost his moral compass? Or do you think the warning signs were there from the beginning? Me personally, I think he was always a schemer. Personally. but y he started legit when he was working with his mom. From the time he started his other little company, he was he was a schemer. Like he just He started with four telephones, a few thousand dollars, a scam and a dream. And he ended up with fifty-seven federal convictions. Actually plus more, because he also did go back to jail after he stole the church's money. Barry the pastor. Please step forward because what? Why would you do that? In one of the articles I read, they called him a felon, turned church pastor, turned felon again, and I was hollering. You hear me? I was I would be so scared to play I would be so scared to play with the church's money like that. I mean, people do it every day, but I cannot. I'm like I will be cursed financially if I ever. I'm not about to do that. my gosh. Barry's story entertained me. I really do want to know if his parents are still alive and if they are, how are they doing? Cause Barry, he's 60 now. So I do wonder if his parents are alive and how they're doing. I wonder if they always knew that he had the ability to lie and scheme and scam and if that's why they didn't want him to start the business. Because I just for me, I could not understand the rationale but behind his parents not wanting him to start a business. If my son came to me, with twenty-two thousand three hundred and eighty-one dollars and was just like, Mom, I want to start a business. I would tell him not to use all $22,381. I'd be like, maybe put that in a high yield savings so that it's there in case you need it. But maybe start the business with 10. Start the business with half. And, you know, I'll help you and you can use the garage. If you need help with advertising, I got you. Like I just for me, I would support my kids' dream. You know, so I d I didn't understand that. But Maybe they knew. Maybe they were like, ain't no way he's about to do this legally. Maybe they knew. But I'm interested. I'm very interested to hear what you guys have to think. Because Barry Minko's story, and there was a story I listened to on another podcast about Diamond Doris. Her story? my gosh, that's the it was good to me. And of course, everybody made it. So another win. Nobody died in this episode. So praise the Lord. Because after last week I was like I needed a break. I needed something not cheerful because Barry went through it. But Barry went through it because of himself. But I am inspired. I'm not gonna lie. Of course I'm gonna be legit. But Barry taught me if I didn't learn anything else from Barry Minko, is to follow your dreams. You're not crazy. Follow your dreams. And that's all I got to say on that. And that's where Barry's story, that's where we end Barry's story, at least for now, because he's still living and he might be. Stay scheming. Cause he don't know how to stop. He doesn't. I'm sorry. Regardless, some super quick shout-outs before I end. shout out to Suncats, or is it Sun and Cats, who sent me the most beautiful message on Instagram that read, Hey girl, I just discovered your podcast today. I listened to the Crystal Pike episode and enjoyed every minute. You're such a great storyteller and I love your vibe. I just thought I'd let you know that you have a new listener all the way over in Manchester, England. And I shall be recommending to my friends. Big love. And big love to you in Manchester. I'm so excited. I really want to visit England. I have never been, but I want to go eat fish and chips. I want to go. I really do want a potato. I'm sorry, their potatoes look good. Their potatoes are just, they just look so perfect every single time I see them. There's other English food that I like, but mainly the fish and chips and the potatoes. And I feel like they probably have great stout beer. I'm not a beer drinker, but I'd be willing to try one. But thank you. Thank you for sending love all the way from Manchester. I got another comment on the Kendrick Johnson episode from Jo Johanna, or is it Johanna, who said that, quote, this case haunts me as much as John Bene's. And when I tell you that I am obsessed, I am obsessed, Johanna, with knowing. what happened to John Bene Ramsey. I will not rest until I have an answer. I need before I leave this earth, I would like that case to be solved. Because I feel like they know what happened. They just don't have enough evidence. And even if an old investigator were to say, listen, this is what I think happened, I would be willing to take that. But I know her parents had something to do with it. I don't care what nobody says. Also, fun fact, I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, minus the four years we lived in Atlanta and couple off years that we lived in Trindad and Tobago. But I did not realize when I was growing up that things happened outside of New York. I thought everything, I thought cat dog took place in New York. I thought Hey Arnold took place in New York. I thought there were just so many shows. And when things came on the news, I was like, is that happening in New York? Now, I know that's ignorant, but I was a kid. I was a kid. I genuinely thought the world revolved around New York City. So when John Bene Ramsey's case, like when the news came out, I thought it happened in Staten Island. My entire life I thought John Bene Ramsey was from Staten Island. Boy, when I was an adult was I shaken when I realized that John Bene Ramsey is from Colorado. And actually Marietta, Georgia, which is where I partially grew up. Well, Smyrna, Georgia. But I still think her parents had something to do with it. And me and Johanna, we about to be okay. We need to know. Follow me. Follow me. Follow me on TikTok at Minor MischiefPod on Instagram, Minor Mischief Podcast. Thank you guys for all the messages. Thank guys for all the loves. Thank you guys for just being positive. I really do. I I don't like being sad. I don't like being miserable. I don't like it, just I can't. It bothers me. I don't like when my chest hurts. Like I like being positive. So positive vibes over here. Keep that up. I think that's everything. Follow me. If you have any case suggestions, want to chat, want to kiki, thank you guys for flooding my emails. I have done my best to respond to every single one. If I have not responded to you, you may have ended up in spam, but I'm gonna check that later. Not today. Because I got a movie to watch, but maybe tomorrow. But yeah, thank you guys for sticking through. Leave me a line in the comments. Let me know what you think. Do we like the scamming episodes? Do we want to do more? Because I thoroughly enjoyed Barryminko's story. Like I said, he's on Inst Instagram. Check him out. I love you guys to life. I'll see you guys next week. Same day of the week. The episode, as you guys know, will drop whatever time it drops, because it just really depends on when I get done. And that's the end of our show. I love you guys to life. See I'll talk to you next week. Yeah, we'll chat next week, like we always do, every Thursday. Same day of the week. And until then, stay mischievous, friends.