Page "Barry Minkow" Paragraph 25

Minkow's recent motives have been brought into question by multiple news stories concluding that Minkow was shorting stock before he releases a report on a public company.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Minkow had engaged in this practice as early as 2006.

Minkow's critics have denounced this practice as unethical, if not illegal.

At least one critic has accused him of engaging in short and distort, a form of securities fraud which is a reversal of a pump and dump scheme.

For instance, he falsely accused Herbalife's president of embellishing his resume, and made $ 50, 000 after shorting Herbalife stock.

Several FDI reports have proven to be false, yet Minkow continued to profit from his short sales position due to sharp decreases in the reported company's stock price immediately after releasing a new report.

Minkow almost always holds a position in securities that he reports on.

However, he has since stated that while his lawyers advised him this practice was legal, it was probably unethical.