
In this week’s Fraud Friday, Laci is joined by comedian and actor Ronnie Adrian (Grand Crew, EverythingNowShow) to explore the absolute mess of carpet-cleaning Ponzi schemer Barry Jay Minkow, who got his career as a con man started early in his youth. Plus, in Scammer of the Week, we meet Bruce Bagley, a 73-year-old International Studies professor who pleaded guilty to money laundering. Stay Schemin’! (Originally Released 02/03/2020) Follow on Instagram: Scam Goddess Pod: @scamgoddesspod Laci Mosley: @divalaci Research by Sharilyn Vera SOURCES: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Minkow https://news.sky.com/story/international-money-laundering-expert-arrested-for-money-laundering-11864982
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Lacey Mosley
What's a booster? Somebody that steal clothes from a store and sell at a discount price. It's like community service.
Ronnie Adrian
I Love Boosters is the must see movie of the summer. Starring Peke Palmer and Demi Moore in a crazy heist comedy set in the cutthroat fashion world.
Lacey Mosley
The Velvet Gang, they're boosting from my stores.
Ronnie Adrian
Critics are hailing I Love Boosters as wildly hilarious and outrageous, provocative and really fun.
Lacey Mosley
Come on, let's take all of it.
Ronnie Adrian
I Love Boosters.
Commercial/Announcer
Rated r. In theaters May 22nd.
Ronnie Adrian
Get tickets now.
Commercial/Announcer
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Lacey Mosley
What's poppin, congregation? It's your girl, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. Welcome to an episode of Fraud Fridays where we release older episodes from the Scam Goddess vault. That's right, Fraud Fridays is where we bring back your favorite episodes from behind the Paywall. Enjoy this episode from behind the Paywall. And as always, stay scheming. Scams, Cough. Robbery and Frau. Scams C. Robbery and Fraud. Scam Goddess. Welcome back, congregation, to another edition of Scam Goddess. It's me, your girl, Lacy Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. And I'm here with. Oh, gosh, I'm so excited, guys. I know I say that every week, but I really am excited, and this is gonna be a fascinating episode for sure. I'm here with. Oh, my God, Ronnie Adrian. Yes. I had to do that.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. What's up, everybody? Not the person who actually makes the beats, by the way. I want y' all to be like, oh, shit, she got him on there.
Lacey Mosley
I got. Oh, my God, Ronnie on the show. No, just go with it, Ronnie. Go with the scam.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, man. All right. So how the show works is I start with a segment called what's Hot and Fraud? Which is where we warn our listeners about what's hot and fraud, or we give them tips for scams. Guys, if you have any scams that you've retired, hit us up@scamgodesspodmail.com, but only if they're retired, because remember, say it with Me. We don't want to fuck up your back. All right. Wonderful. Yeah. So this scam comes from. What am I going to name this person?
Ronnie Adrian
Person.
Lacey Mosley
Okay. I'm gonna call you Tina Marie. Like the singer?
Ronnie Adrian
Like the singer, yes. Yeah. Okay.
Lacey Mosley
Portuguese Love. Okay.
Ronnie Adrian
And that's the song that you sing.
Lacey Mosley
That's one of my favorite Tina Marie songs.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay. All right.
Lacey Mosley
I supposed to do square biz.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, that's a choice. Maybe you could do the line from Fire and Desire.
Lacey Mosley
If you a real Tina Marie fan, then you know about Portuguese Love. Okay.
Ronnie Adrian
All right.
Lacey Mosley
Okay. Tweet me if you know about Portuguese Love.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, man, I can't wait to see those four tweets.
Lacey Mosley
Right? Oh, you so rude. Don't disrespect Tina like that. Put some respect on Tina name. So Tina says, hi, Lacey. I wanted to write to tell you about a scam I pulled off numerous times in college. I was super broke and love to eat. Don't we all? Don't we all love to eat? I do it every day. Yeah, I try to, but also wanted to spend my small income and nights out at the bar. So she was like, these coins are for 99 bananas. Captain Morgan. What's the other? Ratchet collar drinks? Fucking fireball.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Lacey Mosley
What's some other terrible shit that I ingested in college? Ooh, Four Locos. I had a friend who would make four loco margaritas. And this is before they regulated Four Locos. This is when it was killing people. So it was like a Four Loko ice margarita mix and tequila.
Ronnie Adrian
God, that's crazy.
Lacey Mosley
Why?
Ronnie Adrian
That's too much.
Lacey Mosley
That's horrible.
Ronnie Adrian
That's too much. I remember my friends. Cause I don't drink. But all my friends, like, once we discovered alcohol, like, at the end of high school and into college age, everybody when they would drink, I was like, oh, man, all my friends suck drunk. You know, Like. And I just remember being like, oh, okay. Like. And it'll be funny up until a point. Cause, you know, like, it's always funny with your friends, but it's to the point where it's like, all right, now you're getting annoying, you know? So, yeah.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, no. Me and my friends were the funnest drunk people ever. And I didn't really drink a lot. I didn't drink in high school. I didn't. I drank in college, but not really until, like, my sophomore year. And we would drink, like, on the weekend if there was a party. Like, we were fricking nerds. But we had some wild Ass times.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, Lacy, you had wild times now.
Lacey Mosley
What are you talking about? I mean. No, the times now. The times now are pretty wild. Okay, I'm not like.
Ronnie Adrian
You hung it up.
Lacey Mosley
No, no, no, no. I actually picked it up. I picked it up.
Ronnie Adrian
Now Lacey's still in the game. LeBron James, 17.
Lacey Mosley
I am not the LeBron James of drinking.
Ronnie Adrian
Don't do that. Ain't missed a step.
Lacey Mosley
I hate you so much. All right, so obviously, Ronnie and I have known each other for a while. Okay? So she was trying to spend her coins on that drink, honey. Understandable. I once went through a fast food drive thru and they forgot to put a burger in my bag. So I told them, and they gave me a new burger, no questions asked. A light bulb went off. Oh, I love it. What do we take. What do we say about scams, guys? Opportunity. And when you realize that there's an opportunity for scamming, just gotta take advantage.
Ronnie Adrian
And that's the whole saying. I thought you about to stop at opportunity. I was about to be like, okay, opportunity.
Lacey Mosley
I mean, truly, it is opportunity, but
Ronnie Adrian
you can say that about anything. Anyway, go ahead.
Lacey Mosley
So I started going to all these fast food places, and I would say something like, hey, I was just here, and you guys forgot to put blank in my back. And it worked. And every damn time. One time I did get caught, though, it was at a frozen custard place. Okay, see, that's why Tina got a little bit crazy.
Ronnie Adrian
Tina got a little bit overzealous.
Lacey Mosley
Don't get greedy, y'.
Ronnie Adrian
All.
Lacey Mosley
Okay, Stick to the drive throughs, girl. Now you pulling up at the soft serve show. You pulling up at a. What's a custard place? I can't even think of one. Yogurt land. Yeah. You trying to go to yogurt land with the scam. That's too much. Also, yogurt land is a place where you can just get free shit anyway. You get a little baby cup, get two of them joints, and you just go over there and eat all the yolk you want.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, I don't. Okay. I mean, that's. Hey, I'm just saying. I'm on scam goddess, y'.
Lacey Mosley
All. So. So she says she tried at a frozen custard place. She said she called and told them that her husband had forgot to get her Oreo milkshake. Could I come down and get it? She said I wasn't married, though. But I thought saying husband would sound more believable, I guess. You know what? It does sound more believable.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, yeah, that sounds good.
Lacey Mosley
Husband. When you say husband, that sounds like financial security. That sounds like you don't need to steal a milkshake from yogurt land.
Ronnie Adrian
And also, like, men are dumb. So they're like, oh, and your husband, of course, they always do that.
Lacey Mosley
Right.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay. Men be forgetful. Yeah, they be forgetful as hell, right?
Lacey Mosley
So she said, I even went as far as to put a ring on my finger to further the scam. I love you so much, Deana Marie. You are putting on costumes to steal a milkshake, sis.
Ronnie Adrian
This is good. This is good.
Lacey Mosley
She said the manager said that he'd been there all day and never got an order for an Oreo shake. So he said he didn't think the order came through. I got the feeling he was on to me. I was like, oh, well, maybe he forgot to order it. But I was too scared. So she said once she had the pushback, she got too nervous to do it anymore. Love the pie. Been telling everybody about Theron. Oh, thank you so much. Very nice things at the end. All right, Tina Marie, what do you think about this?
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, I love that the fact, like, generally, like, he was onto the scam probably the way it sounds and it's a custard place. So he probably was very nice about it. But that being like, the ending of her scam, like, oh, no, this is. Oh, it's too getting too hot. I gotta stop. It's getting too hot now. It's like. I think you probably could have kept going if you wanted to.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, you could just keep going to drive throughs. Boo. Just go to drive throughs. But see, that's what happens when you scam is, like, when something gets good, you start trying to push it further. And if you're a good scammer, know when to stop or to move on to a new type of scam. You know what I mean? Like, you have to have a diverse portfolio as a scammer. You can't just have one thing in your bag because you'll exhaust it.
Ronnie Adrian
So you saying that Tina Marie, she had her food scam, but she should have upgraded to something else, or is it still have to deal with food?
Lacey Mosley
I think that she could have kept scamming food. She just needed to move into it. Like, so basically she could have kept scamming food. She also maybe could have scammed drinks. What if she started going to the bar and, like, ordering, like, a cocktail and then being like, this is nasty. And, like, bring, like, a little bottle of water, fill it back up after she drank it. I haven't tried that, but that seems like it would be a decent scam. I used to bartend. I would just throw the drink out and make you another one.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, and two drinks for free. Lacey giving you free game right now? She giving y' all free game to try.
Lacey Mosley
But Tamarie, I think if she had kept doing the drive thru, she would have been fine. But I think she got too bold with it. Like, you going to. You calling a custard place. You are calling a custard place. Put it on a wedding ring, driving down there. And also, I think this would have worked May. I don't know if it worked if it was a woman either.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, well, what the. The manager.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, well, maybe. But at the same time, if she called and asked them, hey, my husband left, you know, whatever. The Oreo shake. Yeah, can I come down and get it? And somebody had to be like, yeah, you know what I mean? Somebody had to be like, yeah, okay. For her to be like, all right, I'm take the trip. So rather somebody said it, and then rather they was like, I'll let the manager handle it. Or the manager was there, and he was like, I just want to see this person's face. I want to see. I want to see if they got a trustworthy face.
Lacey Mosley
So the manager's either a huge hater and very petty and was like, yeah, come on down. Yeah, we got your husband's milkshake. We sure do. Get on down here. I'll hand spin it again. And then he got down there and was like, look here, bitch,
Ronnie Adrian
I'm on to you, truly. If he did that, I'm giving him points. If he was like, oh, hell yeah. Come on down and get this milkshake. This Oreo milkshake. Hung up the phone and was like, I ain't had no Oreo milkshake all day. I'm about to flame this bitch.
Lacey Mosley
I feel like it must have been a slow day in the yogurt shop, because otherwise it truly doesn't make any sense. Because also, she says she was scared in this moment. Why would you be scared? Just be like, oh, maybe he just forgot it. He lied and told me he got it. Like, that's not a weird thing.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, like, what even happened afterwards? Cause then she had to go like, oh, he. She probably forgot to order it. And then she. Then, to cover her own lot, had to be like, all right, well, let me get one. Or just be like, he must have forgot to order it. Well, I ain't hungry for it no more, you know? Like, how you get out of that?
Lacey Mosley
Cause also, why didn't he come back? Why didn't the husband come back?
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. Manager looking out the window like, oh, so is your husband in the car or is this you?
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, the manager was asking too many questions. She was like, yeah, so what does your husband look like? How tall about is your husband? Does he have a beard? Show me a picture. No, it sounds like this manager was petty. Yeah, because he could have just. Come on. Now. That milk costs you what? It costs you nothing. Cause you the manager.
Ronnie Adrian
Hey, man, it's a custard place. They probably, like. They not like a big corporation like McDonald's or, like Burger King or something. So they like. We keep inventory of our custard and we know. Oh, if I. If I fucking turn this milkshake machine on right now, that's fucking 40 cents out the door.
Lacey Mosley
Imagine a custom place that keeps inventory of every single ounce of custard. Like, you come into work and they're like, hey, Tim, can you come in here? Can you come in here real quick?
Ronnie Adrian
Tim? Yeah, what's up?
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, step off the floor. Take your apron off.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, take it off.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay. I'll just keep it right here. Cause I gotta get back out there.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, that's the thing, Tim. We're not gonna allow you back out there.
Ronnie Adrian
Why not? What's happening? You need me back here in the back or something?
Lacey Mosley
No. We've been tracking every time that you work here and every shift. We are three and a half ounces short of custard when you leave.
Ronnie Adrian
Now, that's impossible.
Lacey Mosley
No, no, no. We are.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, first of all, how y' all
Lacey Mosley
even know that we measure okay?
Ronnie Adrian
I don't think.
Lacey Mosley
Okay, this is a hard time. So we're a small business. It's a small economy.
Ronnie Adrian
I get that. But it ain't me. I don't look.
Commercial/Announcer
I don't do.
Lacey Mosley
I don't know. You look like. You look like you eat three and a half ounces of custard a day.
Commercial/Announcer
I don't.
Ronnie Adrian
I don't do heavy custard pores. And I don't even touch the stuff when I'm off work. If I'm off work and I want custard, I come right up here and I buy it. I don't even get the. I don't even get the employee discount.
Lacey Mosley
I don't know. I feel like you're getting high on our supply.
Ronnie Adrian
No, never. Never that. Never that. He's sweating Sweating custard out his fucking purse.
Lacey Mosley
Right?
Ronnie Adrian
Never that. Not me.
Lacey Mosley
Like that's very petty. But you know what? Shout out to you, Tina Marie for getting away with it as long as you did.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
Scams.
Commercial/Announcer
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Lacey Mosley
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Commercial/Announcer
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Ronnie Adrian
Hey, everyone.
Lacey Mosley
Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, no.
Commercial/Announcer
We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Together.
Lacey Mosley
We're married.
Ronnie Adrian
Me to a human, him to a bird.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
Commercial/Announcer
Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
Ronnie Adrian
Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.
Lacey Mosley
And it's time for, you know what? My favorite segment of this podcast, His Historic Hoodwinks. I am going to regale Mr. Ronnie Adrian with a historic tale of fraud and chicanery, and we're gonna get his opinions on it throughout.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay. All right. This is a historic one, huh?
Lacey Mosley
Yeah. Okay, so. And actually, this is a bit of an older one. Well, I say older, but it's, like, 1987. So, you know, sometimes we do really recent ones, like, you know, that happen this year or whatever. It's depends. Okay, so this is about Barry J. Minkow, who is a former businessman, pastor, and convicted felon. And I mean, I just love that pastor's in there, because I think that. I mean, I call this show Scam Goddess. My mom says I'm too sacrilegious. I am a Christian. I do love God, and I need to have that recorded on this podcast so that I can show God when I get up to the gate. Like, look, I know I did a lot of bad shit, but you really
Ronnie Adrian
think that, like, if you like God. Hold on. Before you try to condemn me, throw these headphones on and listen to an episode of my podcast real quick. And when you say, I love God, and then he hear the rest of the podcast, you gonna be like, you know what? Thank you for saying, just because you said that part, you up in here. They'll be like, yeah, but what about all.
Lacey Mosley
That's literally how the Bible works. They say you can just come back and be like, my bad. I love God. And then it's all done.
Ronnie Adrian
I think that has to be the end, though. Like, I think it's like, you have to, like, repent. Like, yeah, my bad. I love God. And then be like, all right, cool. I can't do no. Oh, fuck. Shit. I gotta, like. And then, like, you know, like. Cause they gotta be like, no, you have to start all over again.
Lacey Mosley
It's very clear.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay. You know, everybody on their deathbed is like, I love Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Now get me alone. Don't make me do anything. And they just sit in the bed and they just die.
Lacey Mosley
They say, leave me alone.
Ronnie Adrian
Leave me alone. I want no more rationale.
Lacey Mosley
Don't make me sin.
Ronnie Adrian
Don't make me sin.
Lacey Mosley
He's like, don't bring that sexy nurse in here. Don't bring nobody who gonna make me sin. I'm fresh.
Ronnie Adrian
Don't make me sin.
Lacey Mosley
That's why the pastor come at the last rites, and it's like, you are the last person I see. Family, get out.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, don't make me sin. Don't bring that sexy nurse in here.
Lacey Mosley
Look, you gotta stay fresh to death. All right, so while in high school, he founded zzz. Okay, so it's four Z's and then the word best and it's pronounced Z best, which sounds like a modern day, like cough syrup rapper. They all have the letters in their names.
Ronnie Adrian
Modern day cough syrup rappers.
Lacey Mosley
Yes.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay.
Lacey Mosley
That's what I'm calling them. I feel so bad for those poor
Ronnie Adrian
babies who's just give me one example of trippy red. Okay, all right, all right. You know, pretty perfect.
Lacey Mosley
They literally sing about cough syrup in everything. I want them. I hope they stop. So an immensely successful carpet cleaning company. So Z best is a carpet cleaning company. I don't know how I'm supposed to know that they clean carpet. It is not in the title.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, if it's that many Z's, I would think like, it's some sort of like, oh, this is something that's gonna help me sleep.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, I'm thinking like a mattress. Yeah. I'm not thinking carpet cleaning. I love it.
Ronnie Adrian
I'm be hella that. You show up my place like, hell y then really, really tired and they come in and start looking at my floor. I'm like, what you doing?
Lacey Mosley
Right? No, I don't sleep on the floor. They're like, no, we're here for the carpet. Carpet is a scam.
Ronnie Adrian
How?
Lacey Mosley
Because when you get it, then you got to maintain it. Like, just get wood anyway. However, it was actually a front to attract investment for a massive Ponzi scheme. So Z Best, the carpet cleaning company was a front to attract investment for a massive Ponzi scheme. It collapsed in 1987, costing investors and lenders a hundred million dollars. One of the largest investment frauds ever perpetrated by a single person, as well as one of the largest accounting frauds in history. My mans was in here cooking these books like they were stir fry, okay? Like, sir nigga had to walk on the books. Just a flick of the wrist on the books. A hundred million dollars.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, that's a lot. That's a lot. That's a lot for a carpet cleaning company.
Lacey Mosley
I don't know what carpet cleaning company, you know?
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, like, I mean, I get that this is a scam, but at some of those, like, for a hunt.
Lacey Mosley
I know, I know.
Ronnie Adrian
Some of you gotta be like, they gotta look. You gotta look in the mirror. Like, sometimes you gotta look at a scam and be like, this is my fault. Yeah, come on. I should have known.
Lacey Mosley
Like, if the from Empire show up at my house called Empire today. If they show up to my house, talking about, look, we gonna give you $100 million. I'm gonna be like, empire, you ain't clean nary enough carpets to have a hundred million dollars.
Ronnie Adrian
Not no way.
Lacey Mosley
There's no way ain't enough carpet in America for y' all to have $100 million. So Minkow was born in Inglewood, California, to a Jewish family and was raised in San Fernando Valley.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay.
Lacey Mosley
When he was nine years old. I love that he's from Inglewood.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, that's.
Lacey Mosley
Love it.
Ronnie Adrian
Beautiful, Beautiful.
Lacey Mosley
His mother got him a job as a telemarketer with a carpet cleaning business where she worked. So I'm gonna say that, mom, this is your fault. Your major son is scammer. And yeah, for some reason, I got a Brooklyn accent right now. You got your son a job at 9 years old? That's mad illegal. Like, my baby boy was supposed to be in school. Okay, and you got him calling. This is a joke on my TV show Florida Girls, where there's a calling center and there's an eight year old, and she's like, can I verify your credit card information? It's literally a joke on the show that I do and was doing this at nine years old.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, but, Lacey, keep in mind, it's a different time.
Lacey Mosley
It's 1987.
Ronnie Adrian
That's when the scam was. Oh, you know what I'm saying? But like, before that, when he's nine years old, we don't know how old he was when he did the scam.
Lacey Mosley
Right. So this might be, like, in the, what, 60s? How old is Barry J. Make off? Yeah, we'll find out. So he was working as a telemarketer for a carpet cleaning business.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, that's a pretty. I mean, I can understand, like, being the sweet boy at the grocery store or something, but yeah, that kind of job at 9 years old, a little
Lacey Mosley
bit much call people. And also, this is where I think the scam was born, because telemarketing is a scam in itself. And then carpet. So these are his two fields of. In, like, an industry since 9 years old. So he knows them well. I. I get it. So by the age of 15, while a sophomore at Cleveland High School, Minkow started Z Best. So he started this when he was 15 years old.
Ronnie Adrian
What year was this?
Lacey Mosley
Let me see. We got to figure out his age first. He was born in 66, so 1975. He was nine years old. Okay, okay, so that makes sense. In 1975, you're nine years old. That makes a lot of sense that you might be working at a call center. And no one would think that. That's bizarre.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, it's the 70s, man.
Lacey Mosley
Right. So at 15 years of age, he was a sophomore at Cleveland High School. And this is when he started ZZZZ best.
Ronnie Adrian
So that's like what, 81, 82 then.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, you keep doing that quick math for me, real quick maths. In his parents garage with and 4 phones. My nigga got employees at 15. This is some Steve Jobs shit. Like didn't Steve start his shit in the garage? Or at least Bill Gates did.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean everybody do.
Lacey Mosley
Everybody started.
Ronnie Adrian
Everybody got in the garage.
Lacey Mosley
In the garage.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. And Barry Minkoff is no different.
Lacey Mosley
I started scams in the garage too.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, exactly. Scam.
Lacey Mosley
That's what you gotta.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, that's what he looks for when he goes up to Steve Jobs or when he went up to Bill Gates. He's like, yeah, I started scams in the garage too. Like they do the same thing. We all out here scamming them.
Lacey Mosley
Huh?
Ronnie Adrian
Right?
Lacey Mosley
I mean, low key Apple is scamminism was Bill Gates. So at first Minkow struggled to meet basic expenses. He was plagued by customer complaints of demand for payment from suppliers, and at times he found it difficult to make payroll. Faced with a shortage of operating capital, he financed his business via check kidding, stealing and selling his grandmother's jewelry, staging break ins at his offices and running fraudulent credit card charges. So this is when he's a bit older, because I'm like, he's not doing this at 15. So check kidding. If you don't know what that is, I don't. For our seasoned scammers, they probably know, but check kidding is a form of check fraud involving taking advantage of the float to make use of non existent funds. So in my culture, at least in my family, this was called a post dated check. And you'd be like, cash this in two weeks.
Ronnie Adrian
Got it.
Lacey Mosley
Because the money's not in there yet.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay.
Lacey Mosley
So basically in this way, instead of being used as a negotiable instrument, check checks are misused as a form of unauthorized credit. Basically meaning like here's a piece of paper that says I'm gonna pay you money, but actually I don't have the money and I'm gonna get the services that I need from you immediately. And you are not gonna get the money at all. I can't even believe checks were a thing. Check checks feel crazy. You can still write people checks. I'm talking personalized checks. Obviously, businesses are writing checks to everyone every day, but a personalized check just feels insane. I wanna grocery store and pay with a personalized check.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, you can.
Lacey Mosley
Can you?
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, I mean. I mean, it's so rare. Yeah, I. I worked at a. I worked at a Bed, Bath and Beyond, and for the longest time, I was there to. When checks was like a normal thing until when it started to transition out. And then it was rather like cash and card. I want people play with card. But it would be so jarring when somebody then, in the wild west of now, this new age, would just pull out a check. You're like, oh, how does it work again? Like, you know, like, it was just so crazy. And they don't like. And the thing about it is, most people who pay with checks don't give a shit about time or anybody behind.
Lacey Mosley
Of course not, because they're paying with a fucking piece of paper. That's crazy.
Ronnie Adrian
Every now and then somebody would be like, all right, cool. They already have it already got the name on the joint just ready for you to tell them what the amount. What the amount is not these people. You be like, all right, so your amount is this. And be like, it's what?
Lacey Mosley
It's what? Okay. And you said 37 cents.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, shit, Lacy, you already writing right now. But they gotta pull out their purse first.
Commercial/Announcer
They gotta.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, cool. They'll go grab and they get their check. All right.
Lacey Mosley
Like, they didn't know they were gonna pay me the check.
Ronnie Adrian
It's like you knew. It's like, oh, okay. Then you just see people behind them, just inpatient, looking around for other registers. Like, nope, just mine.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, my God. I wanna write hot checks. This feels like such a fun time. So this is obviously like when Minkoff's business had expanded. Cause, like, they talk in the beginning about him being 15 and working in the garage, but he's gotten older.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, I was definitely like.
Lacey Mosley
Cause I was like, it jumped really quickly. So he's gotten older, expanded his business. So soon after Minkov expanded into. He branched into the insurance restoration business. So now he's got the carpet cleaning company, he's got the insurance restoration business, which insurance itself is a fucking scam industry. So. Makes sense with the help of Tom Padgett. Tom Padgett sounds like a fraudster.
Ronnie Adrian
Wait, let me. Let me just. To get this right. So at this point when he started in this new thing, is this before or after the 87 when he broke it?
Lacey Mosley
No, this is all before 87. In 87, it collapsed. Okay, so he's like, this is all so.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, I mean, so truly, I mean even if this is still all later, this dude, it's like if 87, he was like what, 21. So like within this time he's still like 15 to 20 years old range. That's still like, I don't know. That's big business for a teenage kid. That's big business.
Lacey Mosley
He was quite young during all of this, which is crazy. But you know what, he started scamming at 9. So he's actually been in the industry for over 10 years. Tis true.
Ronnie Adrian
Tis true.
Lacey Mosley
So with the help of Tom Padgett, an insurance claims adjuster, Minkow forged numerous documents claiming that ZZZ Best was involved in several restoration projects. Padgett and Minkow formed a fake company, Interstate Appraisal Services, which helped them to get loans from banks allowing to expand across Southern California. So while most Ponzi schemes are based in like non existent businesses, Z's Best carpet cleaning division was real and won high marks for its quality. So they would actually clean carpet and so they could kind of keep the scheme up with that. However, it's Insurance Restoration division, which to me this doesn't make any sense. Like y' all are cleaning carpet and then y' all also have an insurance restoration. What? Uh huh. I mean, but you know what, Paul Mitchell makes hair products and he sells patrons. So that makes no sense.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, I mean you gotta have, look, like you said earlier, you gotta have your hands in multiple scams.
Lacey Mosley
Yes, but they were not a part of the same company. But okay, so they decided to go public with this shit, which is crazy because they know it's a Ponzi scheme. And Ponzi schemes which we talked about. Oh, I haven't really said episode yet. So Ponzi schemes, the way they work is like people give you money, you keep their money and then when somebody else like gives you money and somebody else that you already have money from, ask for money back, you just keep recycling and giving people the same pot of money, but they're actually, you're not making any profit, you're just taking money from someone and giving it to someone else to make them feel like you've made a profit. So that's what he's doing. So he goes public with the business. Minkow took the company public in 1986, which is collapsed in 1987. So here later, like why would you go public with this?
Ronnie Adrian
I don't even.
Lacey Mosley
This is the Audacity. See, this is just like when our girl Tina Marie called the yogurt land. Like, you doing too much.
Ronnie Adrian
First of all, we have to give her a do. She didn't call yogurt land. That makes it sound so basic. She called a custard place.
Lacey Mosley
Okay, which could have been yogurt land.
Ronnie Adrian
No, yogurt is yogurt. Custard is different.
Lacey Mosley
No, it's not.
Ronnie Adrian
Yes, it is. Custard is like that stuff that you put in, like, donuts and stuff.
Lacey Mosley
Stuff. No, it's not.
Ronnie Adrian
Yes, it is. I have.
Lacey Mosley
That's a type of custard. But custard is like ice cream. That's why she was getting an Oreo milkshake. You know what? I'm not doing this with you. Yeah, I mean, tweet us and tell us it's custard. Frozen yogurt. So Mo Min Cow took the company public in 1986, garnering a spot on the NASDAQ. Bruh. This is risky. So the account who. The accountant who audited the company before it went public did not visit the insurance restoration sites himself. Had he done so, he would have discovered that they were just mailboxes located throughout San Fernando Valley. So they basically, there's no real company there. Minkow retained 53% of controlling interest, making him an instant millionaire. Going public seemingly offered him a way to cover up his fraudulent activities. So the downfall comes when accountants wanted to inspect the company's operations. Minkow borrowed fake offices for a tour of the interstate appraisal services and used an incomplete building to present a fake restoration job. So he rented some offices. Did he hire actors? Like, I feel like you have to hire actors because you don't have employees for these offices, because these offices are fake. They're mailboxes.
Ronnie Adrian
This is what loses me with, like, big, huge scams like this, where it is, like, what's the end goal here? Like, because I get it if it's like, well, I'm be scamming, but I'm scamming simply because I want to just live the luxury. This is luxurious lifestyle and have, like, millions and da, da, da. But it's so funny because it's one thing to be like, I'm scamming right now in the beginning, you know, because you gotta be able to get your weight up. And then by the time I'll catch up, you know, da, da, da. So therefore, my business will be legit, you know, whatever. But it's another thing to be like, man, I'm scamming. And I'm always be scamming you thinking, like, don't you know you're gonna get caught?
Lacey Mosley
Like, I mean, for some people, career scammers, and I think they think, like, maybe they won't get caught, or maybe by the time they get caught, they'll be too old to care. Like, Bernie Madoff was, like, oldest shit when he got caught. He lived a good life.
Ronnie Adrian
But was he scamming the whole time?
Lacey Mosley
Yes, he really was.
Ronnie Adrian
Damn.
Lacey Mosley
So he probably just thought, you know, I'm gonna keep running it up. But. But I get what you're saying, though, because it's like when rappers sell crack. Like, when. Soon as their rap careers get off, they stop selling crack. It's not like you see Jay Z on the corner, like, still selling.
Ronnie Adrian
I'm done with the crack. Like, I was doing the crack so I could be a rapper. Like, so that's what I was after. When I was done selling crack, I gotta go to the studio. Cause I didn't have no fire.
Lacey Mosley
But Jay Z was just, like, really passionate about selling crack and just, like, continued to sell crack.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, like, that's. But that's crazy. These people are so passionate about it. Like, this seems like so much work, like, to be like. Like, it's so much work to be like, I gotta go. I gotta fucking set this thing up. All right, cool. Gotta set this walkthrough. We gotta go. Gotta audition these actors.
Lacey Mosley
I gotta stage shotgun.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
This is the kind of job you get on backstage.
Ronnie Adrian
So you gonna be the person that's. You're gonna be happy to be about this place. And let me just see how you.
Lacey Mosley
Okay, all right, all right. You're the mail guy. So you're gonna be pushing this card around. I want you to come by. I want you to have a lot of mail on the card. Okay. Okay.
Ronnie Adrian
You really. So you look like you haven't ever done mail before. You know, we're gonna call you. We're gonna call you back. Got a couple more auditions. You got a couple auditions for this part? It's like, this is crazy. Like, this is so crazy. Like, you're always having to, like, write fraudulent checks and do all this stuff and then get. It's like such a. Like, that's. The scammer. Lifestyle is so crazy. Cause it's like, so much work for what? Like, if you had this. If you had this of type of, like, mind, it was like, why don't you do something real?
Lacey Mosley
Because this is real. Scamming is real. Ronnie.
Ronnie Adrian
I get this. Like, I get the idea of, like, you know what? I'm gonna go to the grocery. I'm gonna go to a grocery store, be like, yo, this apple. I don't know, like. Or even what Tina Marie did. But when it's like, all right, I'm on this big platform, and you gotta spend so much brain energy, like, all right, so I'm gonna go public. I'm gonna do this. It's like, you know, you can spend that so much time, like, actually thinking of something that's legit.
Lacey Mosley
Well, the weird thing is that ZZZ Best was a legitimate, profitable company. Like, if he had just stopped there instead of using it to create a Ponzi scheme. But for all we know, he could have been laundering money. You know what I mean? And when you start laundering money to a certain extent, you do become, like, a public figure, because if you get too much money, everybody's looking at you. You know what I mean? It just gets hot. I mean, he obviously had enough money to rent out buildings for fake tours and show a fake restoration job.
Ronnie Adrian
Who says renting out. He probably told him people being like, all right, if I can borrow this building for a couple hours, I'll clean all the carpets in here for free.
Lacey Mosley
ZZZZ Best will clean these carpets for the rest of your fucking life. Okay? Just give me 35 minutes and call
Ronnie Adrian
me the CEO for the rest of my life. As long as we're a company, we'll clean these carpets.
Lacey Mosley
I'll clean your carpets, your mama carpets, your cousin carpets.
Ronnie Adrian
But he ain't doing it. That's the whole point. He. And that's what's going. That's the scam. Cause then he go like. And then his partner was like, oh, well, we really gonna do that? He's like, I'm not gonna do that shit. I was telling him that so I can get this spot. He can clean this.
Lacey Mosley
Dude, no, you gotta do it, because otherwise he might out you.
Ronnie Adrian
How you gonna out you? Who you gonna find? He gotta find people to out him, I guess. This is 1987. This ain't Twitter age. Oh. You know what I mean?
Lacey Mosley
You can't just tweet.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, you can't.
Lacey Mosley
This is also a beautiful time to scam.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
Because you can't Tweet. You can't FaceTime. Like, you have to manually, literally go places to inspect them. So if it's in San Fernando and we're operating in Los Angeles and you're doing the accounting, I can just bring the books to you. And also books that are cooked. Like, if you. If you got. If you Cooking with the right flavor. And I'm telling you, Barry was the Emeril of books. Okay, Was it nobody Emeril Lagasse cooking books better than him. So it's like, what do you compare it to? Like. Yeah, yeah. So you're right. There is like the time period also is preventing, like, presenting challenges for him to get caught, which is beautiful.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, we live in an age where like now everybody's just. I think everybody's so much more bold now. And I say that just because they know that there are so many ways for them to get caught and they still do shit, you know, Like.
Lacey Mosley
And that's what I love.
Ronnie Adrian
You know what I mean? Like, you can't. How you gonna have. You can't have like two families? Like two, three families now. Cause at some point it's being like, I'm gonna catch a.
Lacey Mosley
You gonna catch a Facebook poll.
Ronnie Adrian
You know what I mean?
Lacey Mosley
You're gonna be in the back of the back.
Ronnie Adrian
Then like. Like back then people as late as like, what? 99 people was like, man, I can just do whatever. I got a family in Phoenix. Then I come home in Los Angeles. And nobody would never attack the street.
Lacey Mosley
They would have them on the same street.
Ronnie Adrian
Like, this shit is crazy.
Lacey Mosley
And you're so right about that because, like, there was literally someone did a Yelp review that went viral about a restaurant and they took a photo of like their food or some crazy situation in the restaurant. And then someone commented under the Yelp review and was like, thank you so much for writing the scathing review. Because my husband's in the back of this photo with another woman and I just caught him and it's like, not fake.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, shit.
Lacey Mosley
So like, you can't even be cheating out here.
Ronnie Adrian
I'll be cheating in the dark. You gotta be like, I wanna take you to this fancy place, this restaurant in the dark. You know, we better make a picnic
Lacey Mosley
in the woods at midnight at 3am
Ronnie Adrian
always listening for signs. Hold on. What's that? What's that?
Lacey Mosley
What's that? Why do we always have to meet by flashlight?
Ronnie Adrian
I just want a picture. Angela. Angela, that's you. Angela.
Lacey Mosley
Angela.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, okay. Okay. We good? We good. Who's Angela? Nothing. I'm just. I don't know. It's just a name that I yell.
Lacey Mosley
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Lacey Mosley
Ask your doctor about eglis and visit eglis.lilly.com or call 1-800-lilyrx or 1-800-545-5979.
Ronnie Adrian
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do@mintmobile.com
Lacey Mosley
Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees, extra fee, full terms@mintmobile.com based on the best selling book series by L. Kennedy comes Off Campus a story of love.
Ronnie Adrian
Last week you didn't even know her name.
Lacey Mosley
Sometimes people sneak up on you. Friendship. This is the most absolutely unhinged planet and I'm obsessed with it and self discovery on and off the ice. It's scary telling the world something I'm not ready for it to know. Oh, and it's pretty steamy. This is the part where I tell you all the things I want to
Ronnie Adrian
do to you off campus is now
Commercial/Announcer
streaming on Prime Video
Lacey Mosley
and fraud. So Minkow became the youngest person to lead the company through an ipo, which an IPO is an initial public offer. This means that the company is offering its shares for sale to the public so you can buy into this company, which is partially fake buildings. So Minkow launched a massive television advertisement. Minkoff was trying to get.
Ronnie Adrian
This is so. Come on, Lacey. This is so much. This is too much. This dude was doing the most.
Lacey Mosley
The confidence of this man. I love him so much. He launched a massive television advertising campaign portraying Z Bell Best as a carpet cleaner that Southern Californians could trust. Now, technically, you could trust the carpet cleaning. So by February 1987, ZZZ Best was trading at $18 a share on the NASDAQ. That's pretty good. Valuing the company at 280 million of them things.
Ronnie Adrian
Whoa.
Lacey Mosley
Minkow's stake was worth a hundred million. So he has like almost half of it. That's crazy. Then almost as rapidly as Z Best rose, it fell due to the credit card fraud several years earlier. Minkow blamed the fraudulent charges on immoral contractors and another employee and paid back most of the victims. So remember back in the day, he was running scan, he was writing hot checks, he was doing credit card fraud. He was selling his nana's jewelry, honey. Like, but you know what? After I saw the Titanic, like, sell your nana's jewelry because she threw that stone in the ocean, I said, jump in there and get that back. What's wrong with you? And also, you murdered Jack. So why are you trying to throw some jewelry down there? For my. He didn't want to get on. She was like, there's no room. She should have offered. She was so raggedy. So, yeah, sell your grandma jewelry. Honestly, that the Titanic really ruined it for Grandma's. After that, I stopped fucking with grandma. So he paid the women, or not the women, but the people back for, you know, the fraudulent charges on the credit card things that he had done. However, he had not paid back a homemaker who had been overcharged a few hundred dollars. Okay, let's see how this weighs in. So Minkow ignored the woman's request to pay her back. So the woman tracked down several other o. You cannot scam somebody with time, guys. All a petty if. If you ever hear this phrase in your life, I got time. You better fix whatever that situation is and immediately. Because when people have time and they are petty, they will ruin you.
Ronnie Adrian
I bet you this woman was like older too. Like, because I'm pretty sure, like, he probably was like, oh, if I scam these old ass people trying to work, I'm like, yo, yeah, here's, you know, I do the carpet.
Lacey Mosley
He's been doing grandma scams for a while. He robbed his grandma.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. So he's like, what to call it. And this old woman was like, they don't know how I do my due diligence, right?
Lacey Mosley
He was like, I don't even pay my own granny back. Like, if Memaw can't get the coins back, bitch, like, you're out of luck.
Ronnie Adrian
He like, well, Meemaw ain't me. So I'm gonna see you. I'm see you again. Don't worry. I'm gonna be over to see you. Don't worry about that.
Lacey Mosley
So this woman tracked down several other people who had been defrauded by Minkow and gave a diary of her findings to the Los Angeles Times. I remember this is the 80s.
Ronnie Adrian
Like, what's super crazy about this is being like this. Cause we even understand about time. Like today, once again, so different. Like, in order for her, she had to do so much legwork to find these things.
Lacey Mosley
She had to use a phone book.
Ronnie Adrian
Probably this is. She did. She did that thing.
Lacey Mosley
A thick phone book.
Ronnie Adrian
Like, this ain't like, right now. Where you be like, all right, I'm going to couple people DMs. I see. I've seen a couple people comment and
Lacey Mosley
just be like, yo, tweet me. If this also happened to you.
Ronnie Adrian
I'm going to eclipse to college. I'm going to see people who also making comments on. Yep, I'm going to hit them up like, yo, you got a problem. Da, da, da. So on and so forth. Like, this woman had to be like, all right, I'm starting from scratch.
Lacey Mosley
So she said, give me the. What was it called? The Bell. The. What's the phone book called? It's called the Saltin Bell. Yeah. So she had to go get the White Pages and the Yellow Pages.
Ronnie Adrian
Man, I wish they had a name for it.
Lacey Mosley
And shut up. I can't think of the name of the phone book. It was something with a bell in it. Y' all tweet me names of phone books. I only saw a phone book as a child. Okay, but. So she had to get the phone book. And then I don't even know how the fuck you find people who have been affected by the company.
Ronnie Adrian
Exactly. Where you even start?
Lacey Mosley
Robo Dot?
Ronnie Adrian
Where you even start?
Lacey Mosley
Like, are you just like, hey, hello?
Ronnie Adrian
I mean. Cause that. That means, like, even then, you gotta get, like, some sort of person to give you information, to give you leads, to go contact people.
Lacey Mosley
She had to get leads.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. So it's like, who you. Where do you start from? With this? But she was like, is she, like,
Lacey Mosley
waiting outside of the ZZZ Best Company every day. Like with like sandwiches and like just paper scattered everywhere and like binoculars and
Ronnie Adrian
seeing people storming out, being like, okay, that person look mad. They look mad.
Lacey Mosley
Okay, okay, I'm gonna get them.
Ronnie Adrian
Let me go. Let me go see what's going on. Like, this is crazy for a few hundred bucks. She was like, oh my gosh, she really needed that money. Rather she needed that money or it's a principal thing.
Lacey Mosley
I think it was a principality. It was the principalities of the issue. Because if you have this much time, like you did not need that money. So then she writes a diary. Sis is out here. You know, most people are writing about their emotions and their diary.
Ronnie Adrian
Her.
Lacey Mosley
She was in here like March 24, 1987. I still haven't seen a dime from Z Best. I called and he told me to off old lady everybody.
Ronnie Adrian
It sounds like those really, really like old southern bells. Like the gentleman hasn't called the late lady. Why, why you sound this old?
Lacey Mosley
I was trying to give you like Morgan Freeman, Shawshank Redemption voiceover. I've been waiting outside of the Zzz Best carpet.
Ronnie Adrian
Now.
Lacey Mosley
ZZZZ Best is for eight hours every day. Sometimes Fred comes by and brings me a sandwich.
Ronnie Adrian
Minkow went out to a nice restaurant. All
Lacey Mosley
she's following him.
Ronnie Adrian
Is he spending my money? I think, is he spending my money?
Lacey Mosley
Definitely, probably.
Ronnie Adrian
Don't worry, I'm gonna get that back. I'm gonna get that back.
Lacey Mosley
I hope that she was stalking him. I hope she was like, okay, when I give it to the Los Angeles Times, I'll rip out the pages about me stalking him, but I'll leave everything else.
Ronnie Adrian
There's a lot of pages in this book that's ripped out. Yeah, don't worry about those. They don't matter.
Lacey Mosley
So this is later that day at a press conference. A reporter denoted another bomb. She had evidence that the Sacramento project didn't exist and that Z Best did not have a contractor's license required for large scale restoration work. So she found out that the building that they showed them wasn't real and wasn't theirs. And she also found out that they didn't even fucking bother to go get the permits to do the fake job that they don't do. Damn scam.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, he did so much work in other areas and then just slipped up on the, on the, on the, on the small detail, the details. This is the details thing, Barry.
Lacey Mosley
You gotta have a secretary of scam. You gotta have somebody who's like, you know what you need? You have to hire a hater, you have to hire a hater, but they need to love you, and you need to pay them well.
Ronnie Adrian
So who they hating on in this scenario?
Lacey Mosley
Everybody else.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay?
Lacey Mosley
Because here's the thing about haters and small and small people who are petty and small, like. Like, they'll notice details like that. That's like a hater's gonna zoom in on every Instagram photo you post and check the walls and the corners to make sure that you haven't distorted the image. You know what I mean? And if you got somebody like that on your team, then check the walls. Oh, my God, they be doing that. Khloe Kardashian had to take down a picture because somebody zoomed in and was, why this piece of tile bent like this? And that's why you need to have a hater friend. And you send it to your hater friend first and you say, does this look good? And they'll be like, oh, nah, bitch. I could clearly see that this wooden bar from the banister has been warped, so you gonna have to make your booty normal size again.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, my God.
Lacey Mosley
But he ain't had nobody like that.
Ronnie Adrian
Water walls look like this.
Lacey Mosley
So to calm nervous investors, Minkow issued a press release touting record profits and revenues, which. Sir. Okay. I mean, we have no way to prove that.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, that's the way to go, though.
Lacey Mosley
That feels very Donald Trump to me. Like, we made a lot of money. Yeah.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, record profits. And you see, he's the president.
Lacey Mosley
The most money ever.
Ronnie Adrian
Obviously, that goofy shit work. Like, you just tell people some. Like, some people gonna be like, I don't know. But other people will be like, shut up. He said, we made money. We gonna see that soon. Yeah, don't worry about it. You're gonna get that soon.
Lacey Mosley
It's so crazy to me that so many white people are so mistrusting of black people and will scrutinize everything we say. But then you could just say crazy, wild, vague shit, and they'll be like,
Ronnie Adrian
okay, yeah, don't flinch. You can't flinch, like, even in the face of, like, so much factuals. Like, that's the thing about Trump. I'll give it to him. He don't flinch. Like, he'll. You put shit, like, right in front of his face being like, nigga, this yours Own this. He's like, nah, not me. I would never do that. Then he'll move, then he'll. Then he'll change the subject. Also, why would I ever write on paper like this? Why Would I? You know, it's like, God damn. You're like, damn. Maybe he right. Like, hold on. Is we wrong about. About this? Like, don't flinch. Never will flinch.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, God. Oo. So July 2nd, Meow abruptly resigned for health reasons. By this time, his company stock had dropped by 81%. So I'm hoping that Meow has started selling off them shares. You know what I mean? Before, when he retired. Oh, and he retired. So I wonder if when he retired, he was like, let me get my shares of the company.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, truly, we. Once again, we have to put this in perspective. Like, truly, this dude is up there giving press conferences, probably looking like a teenage boy. He is very young, right? So, like, this ain't some old man where you go like, oh, okay, cool. We can have a trust him. Like, it's like you looking at somebody being like, man, I mean, this is.
Lacey Mosley
Well, we didn't have high def, though. Ain't nobody have high def back then.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, but I'm sure this dude still looked like, you know, like a scrappy dude in a fucking oversized suit.
Lacey Mosley
Don't worry, he looked like Little Rascals. Like he was two people standing on
Ronnie Adrian
top of each other. Yeah, they're looking crazy. Trying to tell the people, like, don't worry about it. Your money safe. It's like, how you know, you 21 years old, like, you don't know shit.
Lacey Mosley
And he said, health reasons. You were very young for health reasons. Okay? So two days later, the Los Angeles Pizza.
Ronnie Adrian
The Los Angeles Pizza Pizza department, the lapd.
Lacey Mosley
Man, fuck the lapd. Two days later, the LAPD raided Z's best headquarters and Minkow's home and found evidence that the company was being used to launder drug profits for organized crime, which I pretty much suspected in the beginning. So basically, the restoration company that they had no permits for, that was a shell company. So there's like a ton of different ways to launder money, and it's all very complicated. And sometimes we Google how to launder money. There's like.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, not now, though. We just wrote off the dome. This is right off Lacey's dome right now.
Lacey Mosley
No, I googled out a laundry money because, like, layering, then there's placement, and then there's integration. And that's super fucking vague, but it's because you can do it in lots of different ways. So in this particular way, my man's Barry was using his fake company, the one that did restorations with no permits and no buildings, as a shell company. So it was just A front. So basically, all the drug money that was coming in, he could clean by saying that they were profits from this fake company that did not actually do anything. It only existed on paper and mailboxes. Because, remember, this is really the auditor's fault. But who audited my man's before they went public because he ain't want to drive to San Fernando Valley. So he never discovered that it was just mailboxes.
Ronnie Adrian
This is tight. So. So. So for all you do boys out there listening to this scam, this scam got his podcast, right? You out there making it. You out there on the streets trying to feed your family, making your dough. Nobly, of course. And it's not for flossing. It's for you. You gotta feed your family. And so you make. So you got a ton of. And it's like, all right, well, I. I gotta be able to learn this. So get your homie, get him to give like a. Like a car cleaning business. Like a. You know, like, that's what we love. That's. We love that shit. That interior joints. And we do that. That shit ain't real. We know it ain't real, but.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, my God, what if every car cleaning business is a drug front?
Ronnie Adrian
Oh.
Lacey Mosley
Cause we know Laundromats are.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. I mean, what if every car cleaning business. I mean, not every, but I would, like 70% of them probably are, you know, 70.
Lacey Mosley
I'm gonna say the same for laundromats. My old LA owned a laundromat and he was very chill about when my roommates would pay their rent. And I was like, that's. Cause he don't need that money. And he was always in Mako. He was always in Mako. So, you know, we put the facts together.
Ronnie Adrian
That's right.
Lacey Mosley
I mean, and that's why I loved him. I think that's why we got along, is. Cause we were both scammers. And we knew it.
Ronnie Adrian
Hey, game, peak game. Give me the money when you can.
Lacey Mosley
Also, he was so nice that I'm like, he definitely murdering people. Cause everybody thinks murderers are probably like these grim, scary people. I think it's the people who look gentle and, you know, and they're gen. Cause it's like, I'm good to you till you're not of use to me anymore. Until you cross me.
Ronnie Adrian
I can see that.
Lacey Mosley
I could so see my last landlord just being like, all right, man, it was nice working with you. We don't need your services anymore. And then he just leaves. And the guy's like, murder the Guy
Ronnie Adrian
that's like,
Lacey Mosley
I see that this is crazy.
Ronnie Adrian
Also, I also would love to point out the fact that when I and Lacy said it, she was like, yeah, that's why he didn't trip with my roommates didn't pay their bills on time. Like, she didn't throw herself in there. She was like, I always pay mine on time. She didn't want to throw herself in there. She know she was late. You know, you've been late.
Lacey Mosley
She wasn't, you know, you've been late. The reason that we didn't get evicted, when one of my roommates, and this is the reason I live alone, she like didn't pay her rent for three months while I was shooting. And I came back and I was like, I want to upgrade the apartment because I came back with a little money. And my landlord was like, oh yeah, we could totally do that, but first you have to pay the rent. And I was like, wait, what? He was like, first you got to pay the rent. He was like, yeah, I was actually about to evict you guys. He sent me the paper forms of how my roommates had. Because we sent it all individually how they had neglect. They had been late on rent for like two years. And then like, we're really pushing it now. We're like doing like multiple months without paying rent.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, first of all, that's a good ass landlord because you know, most of the time if it's being like, all right, cool. I see that y' all three people,
Lacey Mosley
that's why I thought he was.
Ronnie Adrian
But y' all gonna be paying, y' all gonna have to give it to me all at once.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah.
Ronnie Adrian
And I'm not gonna be like going to you for yours and you for yours and you for yours.
Lacey Mosley
Right.
Ronnie Adrian
So that man, he was really. Damn it, that's really nice.
Lacey Mosley
He was so sweet. But obviously I think that's cuz he had other business to attend to. He was like, I gotta go back.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, he probably had ultim old other tenant places, other landlords, businesses.
Lacey Mosley
He had shell companies and books to cook. You know, he had other going on.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, he was over there going to LA Cordon Blue, trying to get his book.
Lacey Mosley
His.
Ronnie Adrian
His books cooking going on, right?
Lacey Mosley
Oh yeah. He says like a certified like three Michelin star book cook. That's what I. That's one of my goals. So yeah, of course they. The police are up on it. So. Minkow and 10 other ZZZ best insiders were indicted by Los Angeles Federal Grand Jury January 1988 on 54 counts of racketeering, securities fraud, and money laundering. Ooh, and embezzlement. Wait a minute. Also mail fraud. Don't stop the beat now. Tax evasion. Ooh. And also bank fraud.
Ronnie Adrian
He was doing a lot. He was doing a lot.
Lacey Mosley
They hit him with the. They hit him with everything.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, he did. They was like, we ain't letting none of your things slide. Every last one of them.
Lacey Mosley
Also, though, if you have 10 people who are implicated in this crime, I'm a little disappointed that they. None of them thought to get you a contract, like a fake contract for your fake company. Like, nobody thought to make your fake company whole. Y' all couldn't build one building.
Ronnie Adrian
I bet you, like, you couldn't restore
Lacey Mosley
one joint just for the culture.
Ronnie Adrian
Well, he the head, so I'm pretty sure, like, everybody. I'm pretty sure he probably ripped off them as well. Probably, like, less like they got to eat and shit. But, like, they was like, damn, I ain't even. You know what I'm saying? Like, he probably was also doing them dirty. Cause he like the man.
Lacey Mosley
I feel like if you have a sous chef in your kitchen and they see you cooking the books, like, your sous chef has to learn to cook as well. Like, when you go on vacation, like, the sous chef gotta run the restaurant still.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, I think you can know if it's like. I think you gotta look at the time that everybody, like, you know, if everybody got lesser times, that means that.
Lacey Mosley
So let's see. So on December 14, he was found guilty on all of them things.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, shock.
Lacey Mosley
They came in and they said, racketeering, guilty. Security is fraud. Guilty. Money laundering, guilty. Embezzlement, guilty. Mail fraud, jail time, tax evasion.
Ronnie Adrian
And every time they would. He like, standing there, they're like, okay, but not this one, though. Damn. All right, what's the next one? Damn. Okay. All right. Oh, y' all can't get me on this one. No, y' all ain't got no. Damn.
Lacey Mosley
They're like, bank fried. Get the cuffs like, they gave. They threw the book at my man's.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, dude, they threw the phone book. Yeah, but they threw the phone book, whatever that is. The bell. They threw the Southern Bell phone book at the man.
Lacey Mosley
So in March 1989, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, placed on five years probation, and ordered to. To pay 26 million of them things in restitution. Now he was worth a hundred million. He did retire, right? Two days before he got arrested. I wonder if he had pulled. If he had liquidated his stocks. I wonder how much money he had. We don't know. And he got 25 years, bruh. You know, life is wild. Amber fucking Geiger got five fucking years for shooting a man in his own goddamn home. But this man got 25 years in prison because he plagued y' all m.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, but to be fair to the situations, he probably played a bunch of white people.
Lacey Mosley
You're right.
Ronnie Adrian
You know what I mean? If Amber Gaga walked up in that house and shot a nice Mr. Rogers, like, white man, you know what I mean?
Lacey Mosley
While he was putting. He was changing his sweater and he
Ronnie Adrian
was putting on one shoe, you know what I mean? Like, she probably would have. I don't know.
Lacey Mosley
She would have got more time.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, she probably would have got at least 10.
Lacey Mosley
And she definitely would have got no hugs from the family. I'm not gonna answer this.
Ronnie Adrian
That's not what the scammers want to hear.
Lacey Mosley
They don't want to hear that. And, you know, that's dark. That's dark. We try to keep it light. But I am just like, this sentence seems heavy. And he is white. I'm abdicating for him.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, he got 25 years, but I'm pretty sure 25's too heavy. He probably didn't do them. He probably wouldn't do all 25.
Lacey Mosley
I hope not. Or I hope it was at, like, a really nice prison with, like, a golf course, massages, and acupuncture.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, if I know my man's Minkow, don't worry. He was living good up in there. He was doing okay.
Lacey Mosley
Also, he's young as hell, so he's gonna probably not serve all 25. He'll probably get out in his late 30s, early 40s.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
He'll still have a full life.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, he was doing. He was doing all right in there. He was. Every now and then, get some filet mignon to come in there. He was scamming in jail. He knew how. He know how.
Lacey Mosley
So I'm sure he just got some money tucked away in some offshores.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, come on. He has to.
Lacey Mosley
But what's crazy is also, like, he was laundering for a drug front, but they didn't murk him.
Ronnie Adrian
Probably because he didn't rat. That's probably why he went to college. Like, when you don't rat, you alone?
Lacey Mosley
Very. You a real one?
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. Okay. All right. You didn't say nothing, huh? Okay. All right. I know a guy. I know a guy in jail that can probably watch over you. Go see Fell Fat Tony. He'll be able to tell you.
Lacey Mosley
So while in prison, Minkow had become a born again Christian. Hallelujah. During his prison stay, he became involved in a Christian ministry, completing coursework through Liberty University School's lifelong learning. All right. After Min Cow's early release from prison in 1995, like, we. Yeah, he didn't do that time.
Ronnie Adrian
Not at all. That ain't even close.
Lacey Mosley
Wait a minute. He went to court in 1988, bro, he did seven years.
Ronnie Adrian
He didn't even do hair. He wasn't.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, he's still spry.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, he. He was hella good. He was like, I'm still. I ain't even 30 yet. Like, I'm out here balling. I ain't even 30 yet. Look at me.
Lacey Mosley
So then he goes to work as a pastor of evangelism at a church at Rocky Peak in Chatsworth, California.
Ronnie Adrian
All right, now hold on. Before you continue to read, I just want to point out the fact I right now am waiting for this other you to drop. I don't trust it. I don't trust it.
Lacey Mosley
You don't think he really found out?
Ronnie Adrian
I don't trust it.
Lacey Mosley
You think he went in there, he was like, God, is that you?
Ronnie Adrian
He was like, oh, this a. It's a new hustle. Okay.
Lacey Mosley
We all know the church is a fantastic hustle.
Ronnie Adrian
Some of them are.
Lacey Mosley
Some of them now. But some are good churches. I'll keep. If I don't say that, my mom will get mad at me, cuz she's sick of my. She's one of her churchgoing friends. Listen to me being like. She's like, I raised you.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
So in 1997, he became the pastor of Bible church in San Diego.
Ronnie Adrian
Community Bible Church.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah. All right. And also in 1995, he wrote a firsthand account of Z Best Scam. Clean Sweep. That's what the book is called. And all of the. He should have just called it Z Best Scam.
Ronnie Adrian
Like Clean Sweep. I was like, but it's carpet, though.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah. That don't make no sense.
Ronnie Adrian
If it was horrible, you do that.
Lacey Mosley
You know what, though? Clean Sweep sounds better as, like a scam marketing book. Because I didn't know about ZZZ Best. I probably wouldn't pick that shit. I didn't know what I was reading.
Ronnie Adrian
I just mean that Clean Sweep, it sounds tight until you get to the logistics of you being like, oh, that shit don't even make no sense. It's not even close. You don't sleep the carpet.
Lacey Mosley
Clean vacuum.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, I know. I get it. It works perfectly but when you think about it, it's like, oh, this shit don't even go.
Lacey Mosley
Suction.
Ronnie Adrian
It didn't sound tight.
Lacey Mosley
That sounds like a Zane book, like an erotic novel. Suction.
Ronnie Adrian
I laid her down on the dirty ass carpet.
Lacey Mosley
All right, all right, sir. So all of the book's proceeds went to repaying his victims.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, okay. Yeah, because obviously he didn't have that money. I don't know. I don't got the money offshore. He don't got the money.
Lacey Mosley
So soon after his arrival, a church member. So this is when he starts the community Bible church. Soon after his arrival, a church member asked him to look into a money management firm in nearby Orange County. Suspecting that something was amiss, Minkow alerted federal authorities who discovered it was a 300 million dollar pyramid system scheme. Wait a minute, Barry. So you became a snitch when you found Jesus? I be reading a good book. And it don't say nothing about snitching. It say, love thy neighbor.
Ronnie Adrian
I get that.
Lacey Mosley
If thy neighbor doing do crime, none of thy business.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, well, but also think about like this. He could be like, all right, this time to get back in their good graces, I'mma snitch on these cats. Get them in my gr. Like, like, hey, damn, look at that.
Lacey Mosley
Wipe some of that restitution out.
Ronnie Adrian
Like, come on, man. Like, I just told him this thing. Like, yeah, y' all can trust me.
Lacey Mosley
And then you are so right.
Ronnie Adrian
Laying the groundwork to take advantage of him later.
Lacey Mosley
Yes.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, he could be smart. Let's see. Let's see, Barry. Let's see.
Lacey Mosley
So this was the beginning of a fraud discovery institute, a for profit investigation firm, which eventually transpired. I'm not even gonna say that I'm gonna save the last part. So he basically starts a business where he is detecting fraud for the government because he has done fraud.
Ronnie Adrian
Not.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, okay, right. So he soon attracted the attention of the media and began appearing on TV as a fraud expert. Several Wall street investors liked what they saw and they sent him enough money to go after bigger targets. So now the people he scammed on Wall street are like, giving him money to go find other scammers. So Minkow claimed to have uncovered a billion dollars worth of fraud over the years. Minkow almost always held a position in stocks on which he reported, however, stated that while his lawyers advised him the practice was legal, it was probably unethical. So now he's like kind of getting into ethics and he's getting into like money laundering, drug fronts, businesses like this. So several Companies have sued Minkow for making false accusations against them and most of which have been settled outta court. So he probably raked up like a bag snitching on companies. Then some companies was like, we not even doing fraud, bruh.
Ronnie Adrian
Bruh, we over here, we legit over here, bruh. This is crazy.
Lacey Mosley
Probably snitched on every laundry company, company he ever saw. Anytime he drove past a washing pole,
Ronnie Adrian
he called the feds. Yeah, this don't look good over here.
Lacey Mosley
And he was probably right 70% of the time. So some of the Washington Posts were like, damn, we not actually doing crime. So one month after Minkow learned that he was the subject of a criminal investigation, he announced to his attorney that he was pleading guilty on one count of insider trading. So remember he was going to figure out companies like if they were doing fraud, checking their books, things like that. Also he had specific stock intel because that's on what he was basically reporting the most because his fraud, even though it had to do with money laundering with his shell company. He also defrauded Wall street, the nasdaq and so he's basically going and specifically looking at stocks. So he was using this information while he was fraud detecting to do insider trading. He couldn't stop doing crime.
Ronnie Adrian
He couldn't, he couldn't. I mean this was a, a lower scale. Like cuz he definitely like oh okay, like this one. He probably was like this is so damn easy. Like they throwing this right into my lap, right?
Lacey Mosley
They're literally paying me to come in here, look at inside information and then I can go use it.
Ronnie Adrian
I ain't gotta hire no, I ain't gotta hire no fake company. I ain't gotta make no commercials.
Lacey Mosley
I don't have to get on bagsthitch.com and craigslist and Backpage. I don't have to do mail fraud.
Ronnie Adrian
I don't gotta get like 10 of my homies in this. I can just. It's just, this is just me. This is tight.
Lacey Mosley
This is fantastic.
Ronnie Adrian
This is crazy.
Lacey Mosley
So me Kau claims not to know at the time that he was breaking the law, which is my favorite excuse. He said, oh, you mean I can't go look at a company's reports and stocks and then use that information to purchase said stocks.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh man, this is the first time hearing about this.
Lacey Mosley
Also, he's still pretty young so maybe people will believe him.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
In a pre sentencing evaluation, Mekow was diagnosed as having antisocial personality disorder. Disorder narciss. Wait, this is a long list. So Minkow was diagnosed with having Antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder, opioid dependence, anabolic steroid abuse. Okay. And he was diagnosed with migraine headaches. Okay, sorry, Barry. The headaches is really what everything else on here. I hate mental health shaming. I think these are all legitimate. I know they are. But you go tell the judge you had headaches and that's why you did insider training.
Ronnie Adrian
Like, you don't understand.
Lacey Mosley
Like, it's just the et cetera wasn't working, so I had to start insider trading.
Ronnie Adrian
Have you, Judge, have you ever had a bad migraine? Like, I got them all the time. Like, I can't even.
Lacey Mosley
And that's why I have to break the law.
Ronnie Adrian
I have to break the law. Health stuff ain't easy. It ain't easy. I could get into health care.
Lacey Mosley
Like, what? So two months later, it emerged that officials within the church had accused Minkov of running a fraud discovery institute with church funds applying for credit cards in the name of church members.
Ronnie Adrian
Is he still doing. Is he still patron at this time, by the way? All right, okay, Barry. All right. They got to find this stuff and also be like, all right, but I gotta get this sermon. I gotta get the sermon pop up for Sunday. All right, Barry. Okay.
Lacey Mosley
Man, you are a busy man, Mary.
Ronnie Adrian
At your, at your community Bible church. That's not even. They know the denomination. It's like, what church is this? It's a Bible church.
Lacey Mosley
You know, they trying to get everybody's money.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, he like, man, I, I, I don't. Nobody, whoever. Baptist Presbyterian, like the Bible.
Lacey Mosley
We ain't doing no denomination.
Ronnie Adrian
You like the Bible?
Lacey Mosley
He said, we're not even non denominational. Okay. We just all denominational.
Ronnie Adrian
Y' all believe Jesus. Jesus is Lord. Come on in, Come on in.
Lacey Mosley
We got something fun. So he was still running the church at the time and applying. What was really sending me is that he was applying for credit cards in church members names. That's why he was doing that. Yes. And he was leading his flock into bad investments. Sir. So when you preaching on Sunday, are you getting up like, hello, everyone. Thank you. Thank y' all so much for coming out here today. The Lord hath told me that gold is up.
Ronnie Adrian
King Midas.
Lacey Mosley
Like, is this Ernest and Young or is this a church?
Ronnie Adrian
I don't even, like, honestly, I don't even believe. I don't believe he wrote it. Ever Wrote a sermon. I would say I believe he probably went to other churches, like night churches or like a church on a Wednesday. And then stole everybody sermon and then just went to church and gave them that.
Lacey Mosley
You're right.
Ronnie Adrian
I would believe that 100%.
Lacey Mosley
So one woman says that Minkof asked her for $300,000 purportedly to help finance a movie about his redemption. Sir, if my pastor ever asked me for $300,000. Hey, Sam, do you mind saying after church?
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, yeah. What's going on?
Lacey Mosley
Hey, hey, hey.
Ronnie Adrian
Hey. How you doing? Hey, Pastor. Hey, great ser, by the way.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, thank you so much.
Ronnie Adrian
Sounds so fresh. Fresh and original.
Lacey Mosley
Absolutely. You know, I've been noticing that you. You look real blessed these days. Oh, are those Balenciagas?
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, yes, these. Oh, yes, of course. These are. It's been a hard.
Lacey Mosley
And that's a Rolex watch.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, my grandma died and like, she left me with a lot of money. I didn't realize she had as much money as she did. And, you know, I've been spurging just a little bit to kind of make myself feel bad.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah. The Lord taketh and the Lord giveth. And the Lord instructed ye to giveth as well.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I gave elections.
Lacey Mosley
Did you tithe?
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, I gave elections.
Lacey Mosley
Did you give 10% of your grace grandma's money?
Ronnie Adrian
I wouldn't say 10 pastors, but I gave more than I usually get.
Lacey Mosley
Let's do 10. But how about we give it to me. Is it as an investment in a blessing?
Ronnie Adrian
An investment for what?
Lacey Mosley
Pastor, you will help me anoint the silver screens of this great nation.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, okay. How much money?
Lacey Mosley
$300,000.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay, Pastor, I got to be honest. I know a little bit about movies. That movie about to be trash then $300. 300? That's not enough to make a good movie. You talking about shot on the iPhone in the 90s? Yeah.
Lacey Mosley
Okay, so he admitted to embezzling over $3 million in donations to community Bible church. Why is he asking for $300,000 if he's embezzled 3 million, what is he spending his money on?
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, that's the thing I'm learning about business stuff. And like, guess what? When you even have money, you don't spend your own money. Like you. You spend other. You spend like the banks money other. He. Like. I don't spend my own money. I don't. The rules to this. I've been scamming since I was nine years old. I know the rules to this.
Lacey Mosley
He has been scamming since he was 9. So he opened unorth unauthorized bank accounts on the church's behalf, forged signatures on the church's checks. Diverted money from church accounts to his personal use and charged unauthorized personal experiences on church credit cards.
Ronnie Adrian
This dude just stop.
Lacey Mosley
Massages on Jesus, cars on Jesus. Put everything on Jesus. Among his victims were a widower who gave $75,000 to fund a supposed hospital in Sudan to honor his wife after she died of cancer, and a woman who gave Minkoff $300,000 that would have otherwise gone to help raise her teenage granddaughter.
Ronnie Adrian
This dude really sold somebody, yo, give me some money, and I'm. And I'm gonna go build a hospital in the Sudan. I feel like this nigga just turned the globe and was like, the Sudan. That's what I'm gonna say. The Sudan.
Lacey Mosley
A place I know you'll never fucking go.
Ronnie Adrian
You ain't never going to the Sudan. Oh, my God.
Lacey Mosley
So that's sad. He did it for his late wife, so I feel bad for him.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. Oh, he.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah, that's so sad.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. No jokes on you, my man. I'm sorry about that, man. Sorry for your loss. Sorry for your loss.
Lacey Mosley
Okay, so in June 2014, Minkow reached an agreement with the federal prosecutors that called for him to pay $3.4 million in restitution, again on top of his $26 million restitution. So he. The book must not have done that well because it did not not pay off his 26mil. As a result of his last sentence, Minkow was released June 6, 2019. My man's just got out. Oh, T. Glizzy. First day out. So it looks like they may be doing a film adaptation.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, this is all interesting.
Lacey Mosley
And actually, they did so following his release, it was cancelled. Like, so they were going to actually do a film adaptation.
Ronnie Adrian
Okay.
Lacey Mosley
And it was canceled when he got arrested. So then the film was retitled Con man, and the original title was Minkow. And it was. Was a. It was released in March 2018. Con Man.
Ronnie Adrian
Con Man. And it's about him, though.
Lacey Mosley
Yeah.
Ronnie Adrian
Huh?
Lacey Mosley
Everybody go out, watch Con Man.
Ronnie Adrian
Go watch Con Man.
Lacey Mosley
It's probably on Amazon.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, Netflix. I don't know. This is so interesting and compelling. Like, and he got all them diseases and all that stuff. Like, so it's just. Just like. I can feel like he just like, yeah, I can see that. The notion that he just like, look, man, I scammed once, and I just can't stop at that. I can't stop scamming. I'm. I'm gonna keep going. I'm gonna keep. I'm gonna put credit cards in people names. I'm gonna ask people for Money that I shouldn't be asking. I'm gonna be doing all this on top of the fact that I'm getting. I'm getting the bag also doing the fraud shit. Like, but I can't stop getting money. Like, if people gonna give me this money, I can't stop taking it from them.
Lacey Mosley
Can't stop. Won't stop.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. Until they take me to jail, I can't stop. Won't stop till they send me to jail.
Lacey Mosley
And then they keep letting him out. He went. He did a bid this time, though, because he got out in 2019. So he did a bid.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. And I guarantee you right now, like, he like, you know what, man? I can't scamming again. Yeah, exactly. They already thinking. He like, all right, man, what's a scam? That's not going to get me in jail? You know, I'm just. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going start. I'm going to start going and scamming food. Getting this free food first. Well, let me go in here. First of all, I'm hungry. Let me go to this McDonald's real quick and tell them they didn't get my McChicken sandwich.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, he's gonna start. He's gonna go all the way down to Tina.
Ronnie Adrian
He gonna go down. Yeah, he gonna go to Tina Reeve.
Lacey Mosley
I was gonna say he'll start washing cars.
Ronnie Adrian
Barry ain't gonna.
Lacey Mosley
Cause he can clean money with that, too.
Ronnie Adrian
He ain't washing cars. He already. He gonna figure out a way to, like, get in on somebody else's car washing business. Like, hey, you know what? I can really help you expand your business. I'm really good at this.
Lacey Mosley
Into crime.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. And they.
Lacey Mosley
You like crime? All right, guys. Oh, I hate this part. And I have to let Ronnie go know. Yeah, it's been wonderful.
Ronnie Adrian
This has really been very interesting. I learned a lot. And I think I want to go home and try to read more up on money laundering. Not to do it.
Lacey Mosley
I am, too.
Ronnie Adrian
Not to do it. But just to be honest, just to
Lacey Mosley
know the specifics of each type of money laundering, just to know.
Ronnie Adrian
It's crazy. You watch so many. I've seen so many movies where that is a crime that people are accused of. And I'm just like, yeah, okay, cool. But you really don't really know the intricacies of it.
Lacey Mosley
No, they're not putting it out there. I gotta get on the dark web. So the scammers. The streamer of the week is Bruce Badgley. This is the segment of the show, where we honor one charlatan that's really worthy of our praise. And this week, it's Bruce Bradley. A university professor seen as an expert on organized crimes and the drug trade has been arrested for allegedly laundering millions of dollars. Really stayed on theme with this episode. So he was an expert, but then he also was doing the laundering. So the professor of international relations at the University of Miami is accused of helping launder $300 million of dirty money from Venezuela while skimming about 300,000 for himself. Other reports say that the total involved is 2.5 million, which he's accused of receiving from bank accounts in Switzerland. Always scammy to have a Swiss bank account, and they were the proceeds of bribery and embezzlement in Venezuela. So the U.S. attorney said in a statement that Badgley, who was held on Monday and retained about 10% as commission. He's charged with two counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Badgley is 73 and considered one of the foremost experts in the field. He wrote the 2015 book Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime, and Violence in Today's America. The academic has previously worked and consulted with the FBI as well as the US State Department and the dea. So maybe we need to be looking at these experts because you know how to do it. I mean, also, I think that's dope, because you could give the government just enough tea, but you don't have to give them all the teachers the tricks. You save the new for yourself. And then also, you get to learn how much technology the government actually has and what they.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, I mean, that's a crate. Like, to be on the inside. Like, that's also a form of boldness, to be on the inside, being like, all right, cool. And I'm scamming on the inside of me. I'm like, and this is so foolproof. I can't. I won't get caught. And also, they trust me. Like, how do they. Like, no, that's not.
Lacey Mosley
They'll never even be looking into you while they're like, oh, man. Bruce showed up today looking real clean. Is he driving a Rolls Royce? I thought he was a professor. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm tenured.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah. I'm 10. I'm old. I've been living saving money for a long time.
Lacey Mosley
I saved my money my whole life.
Ronnie Adrian
My whole life. I thought I was splurge. Finally, you know what else I'm gonna do with it? It's like, all right, bro.
Lacey Mosley
I feel like at 73, if he helped y' all catch all these people. Y' all can't make him go to jail for this. Like, let my man's go.
Ronnie Adrian
I mean, yeah, he probably. That's what he probably thought, too. He probably. Probably pulled up in the room being like, bruce, they can do this to us.
Lacey Mosley
Bruce, they fucking know him. They come like, oh, Mike. Bruce. Like, you know how they got him, too? They probably didn't even, like, arrest him. They were just like, let's just let him show up for work today. Let's let him show up to work today. Bruce, you're going to have to give us your key card.
Ronnie Adrian
Why? What happened?
Lacey Mosley
I'm getting fired. No, you're going to federal prison.
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, that don't sound right.
Commercial/Announcer
Right.
Ronnie Adrian
Why? No, I didn't do that.
Lacey Mosley
No, look, I investigated myself. I definitely didn't do that.
Ronnie Adrian
I investigated myself. I investigated myself. I came out clean. I investigated myself, and I came out clean.
Lacey Mosley
Oh, man. Ronnie, this has been fantastic.
Ronnie Adrian
Yeah, this is a really interesting and enlightening show.
Lacey Mosley
I don't know if you're being sincere.
Ronnie Adrian
I really am. I am. I was literally. I didn't know what this was, and I came into this and then was like, oh, okay. This is very interesting.
Lacey Mosley
Well, Ronnie, where do you want be found?
Ronnie Adrian
Oh, I guess you can find me on the Gram Bones, Adrian. I'm also on Twitter, but who cares? I'm never on it. Oh, yeah, I perform at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. UCB Theater. I got a show there every Saturday, 10:30, and every second Friday at 10:30.
Lacey Mosley
And what are the names of those shows?
Ronnie Adrian
One is called Make It Hot with My Team White Women. And the other one, Saturdays, is Let's Party with the the Dragons.
Lacey Mosley
Yes. All right, guys. And as always, you can find us@scamgodespotgmail.com, send us your scams. Make sure they're retired. Or if you've been scammed and you want to share, please let us know. We also love sharing that with the congregation. Guys, you can find our podcast at Scam Goddess Pod on Twitter and on Instagram. And you can find me at D I V A L A C I Diva Lacy on all platforms. All right, congregation, stay scared, scheming.
Ronnie Adrian
Hey, I'm Paul Scheer.
Lacey Mosley
I'm June Diane Rayfield.
Ronnie Adrian
And I'm Jason Mantzoukas.
Commercial/Announcer
And we're the hosts of how did this Get Made?
Ronnie Adrian
A comedy podcast where we deconstruct, make
Commercial/Announcer
fun of, and celebrate the best worst movies ever made.
Ronnie Adrian
Have you ever seen a movie that's so bad that it's actually good. That's what we're talking about.
Lacey Mosley
From blockbuster franchises and made for TV
Commercial/Announcer
romances to bonkers 80s action flicks and obscure sci fi musicals, we cover it all.
Ronnie Adrian
You can find. How did this get made? Wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show
Commercial/Announcer
so you never miss an episode. Idiot.
Lacey Mosley
Stitch Fix Stop shopping. Get styled. A plus on the outfit. Ms. Turner, you are about to slay parent teacher conferences. Oh, these just the most perfect fitting jeans my stylist sent me. Oh hello you who didn't set one foot in a mall and still looks amazing. Just share your size, style and budget and your stylist sends personalized looks right to your door. Stitch Fix get started today@stitch fix.com to my stylist. This look is dedicated to you. Thank you, thank you.
Podcast: Scam Goddess
Host: Laci Mosley
Guest: Ronnie Adrian
Date: May 15, 2026
This Fraud Friday episode uncovers the wild true-con tale of Barry Minkow, the infamous "crooked carpet cleaner" behind one of the largest one-man Ponzi schemes in American history. Host Laci Mosley ("the Scam Goddess") and comedian guest Ronnie Adrian gleefully dissect Minkow’s rise from child telemarketer to multimillionaire (and pastor!), eventually running everything from check-kiting scams to a front for laundering drug profits. The duo blend deep scam analysis, personal confessionals, and hilarious riffing to remind listeners: “the best scammers are the persistent ones that never know when to quit.”
[02:22–13:13]
[15:34–74:33]
[15:54–20:34]
[22:25–33:03]
[39:04–47:57]
[49:33–59:07]
[59:07–74:33]
[75:06–77:31]
Listen if you love:
As the Scam Goddess says: Stay schemin’!