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
Jane Mixer: The Controversial Conviction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:23
In 1969, Jane Louise Mixer, a 23-year-old law student at the University of Michigan, was trying to catch a ride home to tell her parents she was engaged to her boyfriend Phil. Jane was an exceptional student—top 10% of h…
[Unsolved] Cheryl Coker: The Kroger Parking Lot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:28
On an ordinary Tuesday morning in October 2018, Cheryl Coker vanished from her suburban Ohio home. Her SUV was found abandoned in a Kroger parking lot with her purse and phone still inside. Cheryl—a bubbly, talkative mom…
A Deadly Inheritance: The Von Stein Murder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:14
In July 1988, Lieth Von Stein was brutally murdered in his Washington, North Carolina home while his wife Bonnie barely survived the attack. The crime scene looked like a burglary gone wrong—but investigators quickly rea…
Absurd Lawsuits: Scams, Frauds and Greed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:00
Some crimes are violent, some are tragic, and some are just so absurd that they make you lose a little faith in humanity. Today we're diving into lawsuits so wild, so petty, and so downright unbelievable, you'll think we…
Janie Ballard: A Daughter's Deadly Greed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:24
When a friend found 58-year-old Janie Ballard stabbed over 70 times in her Little Rock, Arkansas home on September 13, 2003, investigators immediately suspected her own daughter, Leslie, and Leslie's much older husband,…
Forbidden Science: History's Dark Experiments [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:39
Throughout history, scientists have pushed ethical boundaries in the name of progress—sometimes with horrifying consequences. From secret government programs to rogue researchers conducting experiments on unwitting subje…
The Krugersdorp Killings: A Prophet's Cult [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:00
In 2016, a small South African community was rocked by a series of brutal murders orchestrated by a woman who claimed to speak directly to God. Cecilia Steyn manipulated her followers into committing unspeakable acts, al…
[Update] Piketon Massacre: New Sentences [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:24
Major developments in one of Ohio's most shocking family annihilations. After years of investigation and legal battles, the Wagner family members have been sentenced for the brutal murders of eight members of the Rhoden…
[Unsolved] Who Killed Ronni Chasen? Hollywood's Mystery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:35
In 2010, Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was driving home from a movie premiere when she was shot multiple times in her Mercedes. The high-profile murder sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, and the inves…
Jesse Baird & Luke Davies: Cop Turned Killer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:07
When Australian TV presenter Jesse Baird and his partner Luke Davies disappeared in February 2024, the investigation led to a shocking suspect: a serving NSW police officer. This case exposed the dangers of domestic viol…