US homebuilder Lennar Corp again denied on Monday treating its joint ventures like a Ponzi scheme and tried to counter the allegation by providing fresh data on those ventures.

The statement came in response to accusations made last week by Barry Minkow, who had served time in prison for stock fraud but now investigates fraud. The accusations were made in a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Those charges pounded the Miami-based company's shares down 20% on Friday. The shares were down another 7.2 % at $8.49 during afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday amid a broad decline in homebuilder shares. The Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index fell 5.7%.

'While it is not Lennar's practice to respond to false and scurrilous allegations in the context of litigation, Lennar has a responsibility to its shareholders and the public to respond to their legitimate requests for information,' the company said in a statement.

Washington Post