While serving a 25 year prison sentence for a ponzi scam he ran back in the late ’90s, producer Lou Pearlman is dead at the age of 62. According to NBC News, a cause of death was not listed in federal records. Pearlman’s attorney argued at the time of sentencing, when Pearlman was 53 years old, that he had “some significant health conditions.”
Responsible for groups like ‘NSync and the Backstreet Boys, Pearlman’s fall from grace finally came to a harsh landing in 2008, when he pleaded guilty under a plea agreement to federal charges of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, money laundering and presenting or using a false claim in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Pearlman swindled investors and banks in the scheme that went on for two decades. At least $200 million of the more than $300 million wrapped up in the scam was from investors.
Pearlman’s groups dominated the charts during the ’90s. Backstreet Boys landed six Top 10 singles in the Hot 100 and an unbelievable nine albums in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, with both Millennium and Black & White hitting No. 1 ‘NSYNC had six Top 10 singles on the Hot 100 and landed four albums in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, although the two of them that reached #1, including No Strings Attached and Celebrity, which were both released after the split. His next most popular act, O-Town, had a single and an album in the Top 10.
‘NSYNC member Lance Bass tweeted about the news on Saturday, August 20, writing, “He might not have been a stand up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today without his influence.” Justin Timberlake tweeted on Sunday morning, “I hope he found some peace. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.”
