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Former 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys Manager Gets 25 Years

Lou Pearlman, the man behind the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, has received the maximum sentence for two counts of conspiracy, one count of money laundering, and charges of making a false claim in bankruptcy court. He'll now face 25 years in a federal prison for scamming countless investors out of an estimated $200 million since the early '80s. He also squeezed another $100 million out of banks in the same time frame.

The boy band impresario pleaded guilty to all of the above charges in March and claimed that he couldn't pay anyone back because of other unrelated lawsuits during the '90s. Presented with the evidence and Pearlman's plea, U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp noted the number of elderly victims in court and said, "The sympathy factor just doesn't run very high with the court."

"Over the past nine months since my arrest, I've come to realize the harm that's been done," Pearlman said in a courtroom statement. "I'm truly sorry and I apologize for what's happened."

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
05.21.08