Netflix's limited docuseries, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, has brought music magnate swindler Lou Pearlman back to the fore.
The three-part project - which dropped on the streaming platform last week - chronicles Lou's rise to the top of the 90s American boy band market, through to his infamous fall from grace.
Lou died in August 2016, eight years into a 25-year prison sentence on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding. Here is how he pulled the wool over everyone's eyes before his entertainment hotshot reputation was stripped down to tatters.
Who is Lou Pearlman?
Born in New York in the early fifties, Lou was an American music manager who spearheaded famous bands including The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.
He was reportedly intrigued by the remarkable success of boy band New Kids on the Block, which sparked his desire to replicate such stardom. Thus, Lou established Trans Continental Records and in 1993 created The Backstreet Boys, the first group on the label's roster, who at the time comprised of five unknown singers (Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson). Lou's dream of stratospheric success came true - The Backstreet Boys are still the best-selling boyband of all time. But, as it would transpire, the manager was a con man all along, with his label making $10 million in revenue between 1993 and 1997, while the band only got $300,000. After four of the five members brought a lawsuit against Lou and Trans Continental Records, it resulted in several settlements.
Who else did Lou Pearlman manage?
Off the back of The Backstreet Boys' success, Lou also managed NSYNC (Justin Timberlake's first foray in music before going solo), O-Town, LFO, Take 5, Natural, Marshall Dyllon and US5.
Girl groups on his books include Solid HarmoniE and Innosense, while Aaron Carter, Jordan Knight, Smilez & Southstar and C-Note were all signed to the Trans Continental label.
According to Dirty Pop, Lou also launched the career of Brooke Hogan, the daughter of former wrestler Hulk Hogan, who toured with Hilary Duff and The Backstreet Boys in the early noughties. As well as music, Brooke has dabbled in TV and WWE.
Lou Pearlman's Ponzi scheme
Over his career, Lou was sued for misrepresentation and fraud by the majority of musical talent he managed, bar US5 and Marshall Dyllon. The artists alleged he and Trans Continental Records exploited them and kept a high proportion of their earnings, leading Lou to be eventually bought out of their contracts. All cases against the manager were either won by those who brought the lawsuits, or they have been settled out of court.
In 2006, US federal prosecutors uncovered that Lou was at the heart of one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in US history, whereby, despite the vast talent on his music roster, he left more than $300 million in debts.
A Ponzi scheme is defined as: 'An investment scam that pays early investors with money taken from later investors to create an illusion of big profits. A Ponzi scheme promises a high rate of return with little risk to the investor. It relies on word-of-mouth, as new investors hear about the big returns earned by early investors.'
Lou convinced companies for more than two decades - including his artists, close friends and business partners - to invest in his operations, some of which didn't even exist.
Lou Pearlman: Prison sentence and death
Lou went on the run but was arrested in Bali, Indonesia in June 2007. He pled guilty to conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements during bankruptcy proceedings, before being sentenced to 25 years in prison on 21 May 2008.
Two years later, he suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with an infection of a heart valve, for which he later had surgery.
He died on August 19 2016 from cardiac arrest while still in incarceration. He was 62, at which time his net worth was understood to be - $400 million.
Millie Payne is a News and Entertainment Writer for Grazia. She has specialised in showbiz interviews, features, articles and roundups for over three years and loves combining her love for writing, talking and all things popular culture.