The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator confirms that Louis Pearlman died in custody on August 19th, with sources also telling Billboard that Pearlman had died.
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Shortly after Pearlman’s death was reported, *NSYNC members Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick shared some words on Twitter.
Lance Bass tweeted, “He might not have been a stand-up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today without his influence”. An October 2007 Vanity Fair story detailed allegations of “some kind of inappropriate behavior” toward Nick Carter and an incident during which Pearlman allegedly exposed himself to two teenage boys, one of which was a member of one of Pearlman’s bands.
The Queens native founded Trans Continental Records out of Orlando, Fla., which fostered other pop artists such as the male pop group O-Town.
Despite success as a music mogul, Pearlman was accused of defrauding investors out of more than $300 million in what authorities called a massive Ponzi scheme.
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The record label included boy bands such as the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, O-Town, LFO and Take 5. The music industry entrepreneur was serving a 25-year prison term after being convicted on counts of conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding in 2008. He was scheduled for release in 2029.
