Who Was Lou Pearlman? All About the Con Man Behind Your Favorite Boy Bands

Netflix's 'Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam' tells the true story of Lou Pearlman who managed boy bands including the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC — and later was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme

Netflix’s new documentary, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, is exploring the complicated true story of Lou Pearlman.

In the early ‘90s, the talent manager rose to prominence by forming some of the biggest boy bands in pop music. Though he received critical acclaim with groups such as the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, his success was later clouded by his various legal issues.

Notably, in the early 2000s, he was accused of running one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in United States history, which resulted in more than $300 million in debt.

In 2007, he was charged with conspiracy, money laundering, and making false claims in bankruptcy and was eventually convicted and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, where he died in 2016.

In the new documentary, Netflix pulls back the curtain on Pearlman’s cons through various interviews with those who worked closely with him, including Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean and Howie Dorough and *NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick.

Here’s everything to know about Lou Pearlman and his crimes.

Who was Lou Pearlman?

Born on June 19, 1954, Pearlman was raised in New York City, New York by his parents Hy Pearlman and Reenie Pearlman. He was also the cousin of Art Garfunkel, which inspired his interest in the music business at a young age.

He also developed a fascination with aviation and blimps in particular, which prompted him to start the company Airship International. In 1991, he relocated Airship International to Orlando, Fla., where he signed MetLife and SeaWorld as clients for his blimps.

Though Airship International eventually folded, Pearlman'srelocation to Florida led him to other business ventures, notably, forming and funding the Backstreet Boys.

Which artists did Lou Pearlman manage?

Intrigued by the success of the New Kids on the Block in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Pearlman started Trans Continental Records with the intent of creating more boy bands like them. The record label’s first band was the Backstreet Boys, who were hand-selected by Pearlman in a $3 million talent search.

The Backstreet Boys quickly rose to fame (eventually becoming the best-selling boy band of all time), and their success led to Pearlman funding and managing *NSYNC as well.

He then went on to manage a number of other groups, including O-Town, LFO, Take 5, Natural, Marshall Dyllon, US5, Solid HarmoniE and Innosense; he also managed artists including Aaron Carter, Jordan Knight, Smilez & Southstar and C-Note.

Several of the artists managed by Pearlman — including Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean and Howie Dorough, *NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick, Natural’s Michael Johnson and Patrick King and O-Town’s Erik-Michael Estrada — appear in the documentary to discuss what it was like to work with Pearlman.

What crimes did Lou Pearlman commit?

Starting in the late '90s, many of Pearlman's clients sued him for misrepresentation and fraud. The Backstreet Boys were the first to take legal action, filing a lawsuit in 1998, claiming that they had only received $300,000 since 1993 while Pearlman had made $10 million, per ABC News. The lawsuit resulted in Pearlman being ousted as the band’s manager, though he still received $30 million in the settlement.

The following year, *NSYNC followed suit with their own lawsuit, in which Pearlman was let go as their manager and *NSYNC members were given the right to control their name. The title of their 2000 third studio album, No Strings Attached, was inspired by the events.

"No Strings Attached just became the theme,” Kirkpatrick said during a 20/20 interview. “It became our battle cry of, ‘We don't owe anybody anymore… we have no ties to anything but each other … and our fans."

Following the lawsuits, Pearlman was then sued by Cheney Mason, the defense lawyer he’d hired to represent him, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time. Mason alleged that Pearlman owed him millions for his services, but Pearlman claimed he didn’t have the money to pay him.

Pearlman’s legal issues hit a peak in 2006, when investigators discovered he had been involved in a long-running Ponzi scheme, defrauding investors out of at least $300 million.

As ABC News previously reported, he owed money to various banks and was using his high-profile success with boy bands such as the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC to convince investors to put money into other businesses that didn’t actually exist.

After his 2007 arrest, Vanity Fair ran a profile detailing allegations of inappropriate behavior towards young men he managed, but he was never charged with anything.

What was Lou Pearlman convicted of?

As part of his Ponzi scheme, Pearlman began traveling overseas to pitch investors alongside Michael Johnson, a member of the boy band Natural (which disbanded in 2004).

During a trip to Bali in the spring of 2007, Pearlman opened up to Johnson about forging documents, which made it clear to Johnson that something was amiss. “It turned out that our world travels were actually him being on the run from the FBI,” Johnson told Time.

That June, Pearlman was arrested in Bali and and charged with conspiracy, money laundering and making false claims in a bankruptcy, according to Rolling Stone.

What was Lou Pearlman’s sentence?

On May 21, 2008, Pearlman was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He began his sentence that year, with a projected release date of March 24, 2029.

In an effort to get back funds that Pearlman may have hidden, a judge offered to shave off one month of his sentence for each million returned to victims. According to Tudum, more than $400 million in Pearlman’s Ponzi scheme remains unrecovered.

Five years into his prison sentence, Seth Abramovitch from The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Pearlman, noting that the former music mogul didn’t entirely see himself as a criminal.

“I wanted to hear what he thought about comparisons to Bernie Madoff. He felt Bernie was a true criminal whereas he was not because he had the boy band thing going,” Abramovitch told 20/20. “[Pearlman] sort of put [Madoff] at arm's length and said, ‘Well, that's a real criminal. I'm a legitimate guy, and things just kind of got out of my control, and so I'm not a real criminal.’”

Billboard reported that he was sued by every one of his musical groups but one.

How did Lou Pearlman die?

In 2010, Pearlman had a stroke which led to a number of health problems during his incarceration. Shortly before his death, he had surgery to replace a heart valve, which resulted in an infection.

On Aug. 19, 2016, he died from cardiac arrest while in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, Fla., Billboard reported at the time.

Following his death, many of his former clients reacted to the news online, including Justin Timberlake, who wrote, “I hope he found some peace. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.”

Meanwhile, *NSYNC members Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass noted their “mixed emotions” to the news, with the former writing on X, “Word is that #LouPearlman has passed away. He might not have been a stand up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today wout his influence. RIP Lou,” per The Hollywood Reporter.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.