Lou Pearlman helped build the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC into major pop acts, then became notorious for a fraud that cost thousands of people hundreds of millions of dollars. He died in federal prison on August 19, 2016, at age 62, while serving a 25-year sentence.
Who was Lou Pearlman?
Pearlman was a talent manager and producer who built Trans Continental into a music business in the 1990s. Before that, he had been involved in ventures including a helicopter taxi service and blimp leasing, according to the Television Academy.
His career joined two sharply different records: he helped develop some of the most commercially successful boy bands of the era, and he was later convicted in a major financial fraud case.
How did he shape the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC?
Pearlman managed and produced acts including the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town. The Television Academy reports that the Backstreet Boys sold more than 130 million records and that the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC each had six Top 10 singles. The profile does not specify when those sales and chart totals were measured.
#1 Best Overall
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Those achievements belong to the bands and their members as well as the wider teams that made the music and built their careers. They do not make the bands responsible for Pearlman’s later financial crimes.
Why was Lou Pearlman in prison?
In 2008, Pearlman pleaded guilty to offenses including conspiracy and money laundering in a case involving a Ponzi scheme and bank fraud. The Guardian reported that he admitted defrauding thousands of people and about ten banks of hundreds of millions of dollars over two decades. The Los Angeles Times reported that he received a 25-year prison sentence.
Rank #2
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After his arrest, Pearlman addressed the harm in court: “Over the past nine months since my arrest, I’ve come to realise the harm that’s been done. I’m truly sorry and I apologise for what’s happened.” The statement was reported by the Guardian.
When did he die, and what was reported about the cause?
Pearlman died in federal prison on August 19, 2016, aged 62, while serving his sentence. The Los Angeles Times reported on August 20 that no cause of death had been given at that time. In an August 24 obituary, the Boston Globe attributed the cause to cardiac arrest, citing a Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman.
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Where can viewers find more context?
The three-episode documentary series The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story examines Pearlman’s rise and fraud. TIME reported that it was released on Netflix on July 24, 2019. That release date does not establish whether the series is currently available on Netflix in every country.
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Rank #4
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