Lou Pearlman, the infamous record producer who created such boy bands as The Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync, died in prison on Thursday, according to a Federal Bureau of Prisons record.
He was 62 years old.
The cause of death is believed to have been an undisclosed illness.
Known in during the heyday of his career “Big Poppa,” Pearlman was one of the world’s most successful music producers in the 1990s.
Based in Orlando, he created The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, LFO and O-Town.
In 2000, however, members of The Backstreet Boys filed a lawsuit against their manager, claiming that Pearlman had set up their contract in an unfair manner.
Via court documents, the band alleged that they had only received $ 300,000 …while Pearlman received millions.
Soon afterwards, NSYNC also filed a similar lawsuit, as did Aaron Carter (pictured below with Pearlman) in 2002.
Still, it wasn’t until 2006 when Pearlman got into real legal trouble.
At that time, investigators discovered that he had defrauded investors of over $ 300 million in a Ponzi scheme.
He did so by somehow convincing wealthy investors to put their money into shell corporations that did not exist.
Pearlman fled to Indonesia in response to the charges and was captured in 2007.
A year later, Pearlman pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering, conspiracy and fraud.
He was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, although a judge ruled that Pearlman could reduce his prison time ; for every million he paid back, the judge would take one month off his sentence.
Pearlman never paid a dime.
“Word is that #LouPearlman has passed away,” Lance Bass wrote in response to this news, adding:
“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.”
Pearlman was a diabetic who suffered a stroke in 2010.
“It was definitely a wake-up call,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time, adding that he had since lost 75 pounds by walking around the prison track.
It’s unclear whether this disease contributed to his death.
