Minkow

Around the same time, Mr. Minkow bought about $20,000 in options on Lennar stock, betting that the company's shares would fall, Mr. Entin said.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Instead, he said, it is the product of an investigation by federal prosecutors in Miami that Mr. Minkow was made aware of a month ago.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Barry Minkow, the ZZZZ Best fraud figure who became a financial-fraud investigator, will plead guilty to insider trading involving Lennar.

What's News: Business & Finance 2011

In January 2009, Mr. Minkow's Fraud Discovery Institute released a report and a Web video that criticized the off-balance-sheet debt accounting practices of Miami home builder Lennar Corp. The report said Lennar didn't disclose enough information about the practices to investors, and also made allegations of fraud by a Lennar executive in a personal loan.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Bloomberg News Barry Minkow, of ZZZZ Best fame, became a pastor/fraud investigator.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Alvin Entin of Entin & Della Fera in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., confirmed by phone Wednesday that his client, Mr. Minkow, had reached an "agreement in principle" with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, and that his client will plead guilty to a count of trading on nonpublic information.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Mr. Minkow was best known in the 1980s for masterminding a Ponzi scheme involving his carpet-cleaning company, ZZZZ Best, which he founded at age 16 and eventually built into a public company.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Mr. Minkow couldn't be reached for comment, and his home number was disconnected as of Wednesday morning.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Barry Minkow , a former Wall Street whiz kid who spent seven years in prison for stock fraud and later emerged to become a church pastor and a financial-fraud investigator, will plead guilty to insider trading and could spend up to five years in prison, according to his attorney.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011

Since his release, Mr. Minkow founded the fraud-investigation company, which won him praise from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for uncovering frauds on the Internet, in real estate and elsewhere.

Minkow to Plead Guilty in Lennar Insider-Trading Case Robbie Whelan 2011