Lou Pearlman, Founder of NSYNC + Backstreet Boys, Dead at 62
Lou Pearlman, iconic American music industry mogul, has died at the age of 62. He was serving time in federal prison when he passed away on Friday, August 19 at the Federal Correctional Institution of Texarkana, Texas.
In '90s, Pearlman, inspired by the late '80s success of the New Kids on the Block, formed his own record label and launched a national talent search to find pop music's next big stars. In 1993, he selected five then-unknown singers who would later become the Backstreet Boys, a boy band which went on to sell over 130 million records.
The music industry vet also launched another highly successful boy band, NSYNC, as well as managed groups like LFO, O-Town and Innosense, which briefly included pop star Britney Spears.
At the time of his passing, Pearlman was serving time for a massive $300 million Ponzi fraud scheme.
In 2008, the infamous record producer was sentenced to 25 years in prison for swindling family, friends, banks and investors by encouraging them to invest money into two fake companies over a period of 20 years. According to the BBC, prosecutors counted over 250 individuals and ten financial institutions that were victimized by Pearlman's scheme.
The exact cause of Pearlman's death has not yet been revealed.
See some of the mixed reactions to his passing, below:
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