The post Lou Pearlman, Backstreet Boys founder, dies in prison appeared first on Punch Newspapers.
Advertisement
Lou Pearlman, the mastermind behind bands like *NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys and O-Town, died on Friday, August 19, at age 62, while serving a 25-year prison sentence for running a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.
Pearlman produced almost a dozen other bands and artists, and all but one have sued him for misrepresentation and fraud.
Around the time news of the Ponzi scheme broke in 2007, Pearlman was the subject of a Vanity Fair expose that contained molestation and sexual harassment allegations from several former or aspiring singers. “God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman (sic)”. “He might not have been a stand-up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today w/out his influence. RIP Lou”, Lance Bass wrote in an extended tweet.
Nick Carter’s younger brother Aaron Carter, who was only 14 when he filed his lawsuit against Pearlman, seemingly blamed his former manager’s past discrepancies for his death.
Backstreet Boys talent AJ McLean weighed in and shared that he has “many emotions at the news of Lou’s passing”. “#LouPearlman my old manager died in prison”.
O-Town singer Ashley Parker Angel said it was a shame Pearlman “let greed get in his way”.
On the back of his clients’ success, Pearlman turned his Trans Continental businesses into a sprawling empire in the 1990s. “Rip Lou not the best business guy really at all but he did discover me karma is real (sic)”.
Advertisement
The group sold more than 130 million records, its website says. They also regained ownership of the master recordings of a number of their songs, including the 1995 hit I’ll Never Break Your Heart. So, the fact that Justin was able to put what are sure to be dark memories behind him and honor the life of someone who did help launch his career is so touching.
