What Happened to Lou Pearlman, the Disgraced Boy Band Manager?
Netflix's latest docuseries, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, delves into the story of Lou Pearlman, a music executive who rose to fame by managing popular boy bands like Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, O-Town, and LFO, only to later be exposed for exploiting them.
In 2006, he was accused of being involved in a large-scale fraudulent scheme that resulted in debts totaling $300 million. He left the country to avoid capture, but was eventually apprehended and sentenced to prison in 2008. What unfolded after these events, and what other sinister truths was he concealing?
Pearlman, who was a kid in New York during the 1960s, was really interested in blimps and aviation. His first try at a business, Airships International, didn't go well when the blimp crashed. But he didn't let that stop him. He went on to start Trans Continental Airlines, a company that flew famous musicians and rich customers to different parts of the world.
In 1992, recognizing a chance, he entered the music industry. Pearlman advertised in the Orlando Sentinel to put together a vocal group with a mix of the "New Kids on the Block style and the sound of Boyz II Men". This led to the formation of the Backstreet Boys, who became the top-selling boy band ever, selling over 100 million records globally.
Following that achievement, Pearlman quickly rose to become a major player in the music industry. He introduced successful groups such as NSYNC, LFO, and O-Town, which were formed on the television program Making The Band. Additionally, he consistently sought significant funding from banks and affluent individuals for his aviation enterprises, despite the fact that they were merely imaginary ventures – the aircraft featured in Trans Continental Airlines' promotional materials were actually miniature replicas. Concurrently, Pearlman was engaged in a massive insurance fraud scheme.
The legal action against Pearlman began to increase. Back in 1997, Brian Littrell of the Back Street Boys filed a lawsuit against him, questioning why the band was only getting about $12,000 per year while Pearlman was making millions. The following year, the rest of the band also sued him and realized that Pearlman was listed as a sixth member of the group.
The legal case was resolved, but Pearlman kept some of the brand's upcoming profits and continued to mistreat his other bands financially. *NSYNC took legal action and eventually reached a settlement with Pearlman in 1999. Vanity Fair reported that during a 2006 interview, Justin Timberlake expressed that the band believed they were being financially exploited by a manipulative figure.
Legal battles started to accumulate and in 2002, the 14-year-old vocalist Nick Carter claimed that Pearlman and Trans Continental had deceived him by withholding large sums of money and engaging in racketeering, which is a type of organized crime. This lawsuit was eventually resolved outside of court.
In 2006, it was uncovered that Pearlman had orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that was one of the longest-lasting in American history. He was found to have scammed investors and banks out of over $1 billion. The FBI searched his mansion with a warrant for his arrest, but he had already escaped.
Capturing And Arresting Him
Pearlman was rumored to have been seen in various countries like Germany, Russia, Panama, and Brazil. However, in June 2007, a German tourist vacationing in Bali with his wife spotted Pearlman from a news article about boy bands. The tourist snapped a photo and sent it to a reporter in Florida, who then forwarded it to the FBI. As a result, Pearlman was apprehended the following day at his hotel.
On May 21, 2008, Pearlman was given a 25-year prison sentence for crimes related to conspiracy, money laundering, and lying during a bankruptcy case.
In the year 2010, Pearlman suffered a stroke while serving time in prison. Six years later, he underwent a heart valve replacement surgery. Unfortunately, on August 19th of that year, he passed away from cardiac arrest at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, Florida.
