Minkow Unharmed by Shots Fired From Auto

Four shots were fired at ZZZZ Best founder Barry Minkow Tuesday night as he and a friend were driving in Chatsworth, police said. Neither man was injured.

Minkow, the 21-year-old founder and former chairman of the ZZZZ Best carpet-cleaning firm, was driving a friend’s pickup truck on Santa Susana Pass Road near Topanga Canyon Boulevard about 9 p.m. when a white Lincoln Continental pulled up alongside and fired shots that hit the left front fender of the truck. The car then sped off, said Los Angeles Police Officer Fabian Lizarraga.

Lizarraga said Minkow, who has been accused by police of being part of a narcotics and money-laundering scheme with ties to organized crime, may have been the victim of a planned attack. But the officer said the police investigation into the shooting has just begun.

“At this point it’s just an assault with a deadly weapon investigation,” Lizarraga said. “We don’t have anything right now that would lead us to believe this was premeditated. It could have just been one of those random highway incidents we’ve had so many of.”

Neither Minkow nor his passenger recognized the shooter, according to a police report Minkow filed Friday afternoon at the West Valley police station in Reseda.

“It’s of extreme concern to us. And things are getting a little blown out of proportion when a client’s life is being jeopardized,” said Arthur H. Barens, Minkow’s attorney.

Last month Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates alleged that Minkow and ZZZZ Best were part of a narcotics and money-laundering conspiracy with ties to organized crime. No arrests have been made.

ZZZZ Best, the carpet-cleaning company Minkow founded in his parents’ Reseda garage, enjoyed spectacular growth and become a popular stock on Wall Street. Earlier this year Minkow’s ZZZZ Best stock was worth more than $100 million.

But Minkow unexpectedly resigned early last month, and within days ZZZZ Best filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid reports that much of the company’s sales and income were fraudulent. Minkow and others have been sued for $25 million by ZZZZ Best’s board of directors charging them with fraud and theft.

On Aug. 7 Minkow filed for personal bankruptcy to liquidate his assets under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.