“Besides the ZZZZ Best case, he pleaded guilty to a single fraud count three years ago over his effort to damage home-builder Lennar Corp. He was sentenced then by a federal judge in Florida to five years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January, Minkow pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding San Diego Community Bible Church, where he was head pastor. He admitted stealing donations, netting him $1.6 million after he routed some of the money back to church uses. Minkow also saddled the church with millions of dollars in unauthorized loans he took out, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark W. Pletcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calling him a \u201cpredator from the pulpit,\u201d Pletcher said Minkow admitted to a litany of misdeeds that included stealing $300,000 from a widow raising a granddaughter. He also tricked a widower into donating $75,000 \u2014 money Minkow pocketed \u2014 for a nonexistent hospital in Sudan to honor the donor\u2019s wife, who had died of cancer, Pletcher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t get much worse than that in the world of nonviolent crime,\u201d said U.S. District Judge Michael Anello in handing down the maximum term Monday, plus a $250,000 fine, and ordering Minkow to pay restitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter to the judge, Minkow said he regretted his actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, parishioners said they felt he\u2019d betrayed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minkow stepped into the national spotlight as a teenage business whiz in the 1980s after starting the carpet-cleaning company in his parents\u2019 Reseda garage. He was a millionaire by the time he turned 21.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All readings above are provided from LA Times.<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n