The Teenage CEO Who Scammed Wall Street: Barry Minkow

The Teenage CEO Who Scammed Wall Street: Barry Minkow

Author: Moms and Mysteries Podcast March 19, 2026 Duration: 43:00
At 16, Barry Minkow started a carpet cleaning company in his parents' garage. By 21, he was one of the youngest CEOs of a publicly traded company in America, with a business valued at over $200 million. But the entire empire was built on a foundation of lies. This is the story of ZZZZ Best, one of the most audacious corporate frauds of the 1980s, and the story of a charismatic young man who fooled auditors, investors, and the media with staged job sites and forged documents. After serving time in federal prison, Barry reinvented himself as a pastor and a fraud investigator, only to find himself back in court, facing new charges of embezzlement and stock manipulation. It's a wild ride through the mind of a master manipulator who couldn't stop scamming. Thank you to this week's sponsors! See why more than 3 million families have chosen K12 – find a K12 Powered School near you today! Enrollment portals are now open. Go to K12.com/MOMS to learn more. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between school drop-offs and grocery runs, Mandy and Melissa found a shared obsession with the unanswered questions lurking in the shadows. Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast is the result: a conversation that feels like sitting at a kitchen table with two friends who are deeply curious about the human condition. Their perspective is uniquely grounded, examining each story not just for its shock value, but for the societal threads and personal tragedies that weave it together. You’ll hear them discuss everything from the strangely specific weirdness of a Florida crime to a globally known cold case, always with a blend of empathy and a dash of necessary, dark humor. This isn't a clinical report; it's a twice-weekly deep dive fueled by a lifelong fascination with mysteries, both big and small. The tone is warm, the research is thorough, and the conversation is the kind you get hooked on. New episodes of this true crime podcast arrive every Tuesday and Thursday, ready to be your companion during a commute or while folding laundry. They’ve been asking "how did this happen?" since they were kids, and now they’re pulling up a chair for you to join that ongoing, compelling discussion.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast
Podcast Episodes
The Starvation Doctor: Linda Hazzard & The Williamson Sisters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:51
A quick note on today's episode: Linda Hazzard's 'treatments' heavily involved extreme fasting and starvation. We want to mention this up front for anyone who might be sensitive to discussions around restrictive diets or…
The Murder of Angie Resendiz & The Legacy of Vanessa Guillen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:23
At 2:14 AM, Navy sailor Angelina “Angie” Resendiz made a frantic, crying phone call to a friend, begging to be picked up from a fellow sailor’s barracks. Moments later, a man took the phone and insisted she was fine, eve…
The Scott Family Massacre: The Trial of Amy Vilardi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:53
On Halloween weekend in 2015, a quiet community in Pendleton, South Carolina, was shattered by a brutal quadruple homicide. Four members of the Scott family were found dead in their home, the victims of a savage knife an…
[Missing] The Disappearance of Lars Mittank [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:42
In July 2014, 28-year-old German tourist Lars Mittank walked into Varna Airport in Bulgaria, preparing to fly home after a vacation. He had suffered a minor ear injury and needed a quick medical check before his flight.…
A Birthday Party in Hocking Hills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:14
A birthday party at a rental cabin in the scenic Hocking Hills of Ohio should have been a night of celebration. But fueled by alcohol and jealousy, the night spiraled into a violent confrontation that left a young father…
The Betrayal of Skylar Neese [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:26
In 2012, 16-year-old Skylar Neese vanished without a trace from her Star City, West Virginia home. What initially seemed like a runaway case soon unraveled into a story of unimaginable betrayal. Her two best friends, She…
The Lindsay Shiver Story: A Murder Plot in Paradise [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:47
In the summer of 2023, police in The Bahamas were investigating a local bar burglary when they accidentally discovered a shocking murder-for-hire plot in a series of WhatsApp messages. The alleged target was Robert Shive…
[Florida Files] The Suitcase Murder: The Trial of Sarah Boone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:55
In February 2020, Sarah Boone zipped her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., into a suitcase during what she claimed was a drunken game of hide-and-seek. She then filmed him as he suffocated, taunting him and ignoring his pleas…