Disgraced Boy Band Mogul Lou Pearlman Dead At 62

The man behind acts like 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys was convicted of fraud in 2008.
From: NewNowNext

 Lou Pearlman, the music producer responsible for iconic boy bands like the Backstreet Boys and ’NSYNC, died on Friday at age 62.

The cause of death is unknown.

 Pearlman was serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison at the time of his demise—in 2008 he was convicted of defrauding investors and backs in a massive $300 million Ponzi scheme.

In a plea bargain agreement, Pearlman pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering fraud and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.

 Pearlman, who also gave us LFO, O-Town and Take 5, was accused of sexual harassment by some of the young singers he helped groom over the years.

 A 2007 Vanity Fair article painted an unseemly picture:

Some, especially the teenagers, shrugged and giggled when he showed them pornographic movies or jumped naked onto their beds in the morning to wrestle and play. Others, it appears, didn’t get off so easily. These were the young singers seen emerging from his bedroom late at night, buttoning their pants, sheepish looks on their faces. Some deny anything improper ever happened. But the parents of at least one, a member of the Backstreet Boys, complained…

“Some guys joked about it; I remember [one singer] asking me, ’Have you let Lou blow you yet?'” says Steve Mooney, an aspiring singer who served as Pearlman’s assistant and lived in his home for two years. “I would absolutely say the guy was a sexual predator. All the talent knew what Lou’s game was. If they say no, they’re lying to you.”

News of Pearlman’s death was met with mixed emotions by his former charges.

“He might not have been a stand-up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today [without] his influence,” tweeted ’NSYNC’s Lance Bass said on Twitter.

Justin Timberlake remarked he hoped Pearlman “found some peace.”

I hope he found some peace. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.

— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) August 21, 2016

#LouPearlman my old manager died in prison... Rip Lou not the best business guy really at all but he did discover me karma is real

— KiD CaRTer (@aaroncarter) August 21, 2016

Many emotions at the news of Lou's passing. Without Lou I wouldn't have met my four brothers or had the opportunity of a lifetime. RIP.

— AJ McLean (@skulleeroz) August 21, 2016