Lou Pearlman, the producer who launched the hit 1990s boy band groups Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, has died in prison while serving a 25-year sentence for bilking investors of $300 million.
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Pearlman is listed as “deceased” Friday, according to a search of federal inmates. No cause of death was announced, but Pearlman was reportedly diabetic and suffered a stroke in 2010.
The music producer was convicted in 2008 of running a Ponzi scheme that took between $200 million and $300 million from investors. In 1993, he selected five then-unknown singers who would later become the Backstreet Boys, a boy band which went on to sell over 130 million records.
Pearlman was also the subject of an October 2007 Vanity Fair exposé, which contained sexual harassment and molestation allegations from several former and aspiring singers. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.
USA singer Aaron Carter, younger brother of Nick, also took to the platform, writing that he wasn’t ‘the best business guy really at all but he did discover me’.
Pearlman enjoyed huge success with his artists, but with the exception of US5 ended up being sued by all of them for misrepresentation and fraud. The Backstreet Boys would soon find competition with Pearlman’s new project, NSYNC, who would experience similar success though their two most successful albums would arise after NSYNC’s break up with Lou.
Pearlman with members of Nsync, including Justin Timberlake, at a pizza restaurant in NY in 1995.
Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with the condition that one month would be taken off his sentence for every million he paid back.
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Pearlman pleaded guilty under a plea agreement to federal charges of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, money laundering and presenting or using a false claim in a bankruptcy proceeding. “RIP Lou”, while Chris Kirkpatrick wrote: “Mixed emotions right now, but RIP Lou Pearlman”. Rip Lou not the best business guy really at all but he did discover me.
