He was now serving out a 25-year prison sentence for running a major Ponzi scheme, a crime he was finally charged with in 2008.
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The 62-year-old producer died Friday, according to the bureau’s inmate database.
‘N Sync’s Chris Kirkpatrick tweeted “Mixed emotions right now, but RIP Lou Pearlman“, following news of Pearlman’s death.
Bass, who has appeared in television shows and films since NSYNC disbanded, wrote: “He might not have been a stand up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today [without] his influence”. His company, Trans Continental, ranged from blimps to boy bands, and it was back in the late ’80s when he chartered a flight for New Kids on the Block that he came up with the idea to put together a group of his own. Pearlman founded Trans Continental Records and placed an ad in the Orlando area seeking young male singers.
Pearlman’s relationships with the boy bands he helped launch eventually faltered, with majority, including The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, suing him for fraud, according to Billboard. Pearlman repeated the feat with NSYNC, another very successful boy band which sold over 55 million records globally. He later signed ‘NSync, as well as other boy bands including O-Town, Take 5, Natural and US5.
Nearly every artists that worked with Pearlman sued him for fraud.
The BSB were the first to file a lawsuit claiming Pearlman and Trans made millions while they received only $300,000.
But Pearlman’s legal trouble began before the scheme was uncovered in the 2000s. Hoping to avoid arrest, Pearlman relocated to Bali, where he was captured.
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Pearlman was in the midst of a 25-year prison sentence, but had reportedly been transferred from his jail cell to a Miami hospital in advance of the procedure. His scheduled release was not until 2029.
