Dirty Pop: Who is Lou Pearlman and what happened to him?

Dirty Pop: The Boyband Scam on Netflix has got true crime fans wondering more about who Lou Pearlman is and his connection to the boybands in the series. 

Dirty Pop: The Boyband Scam investigates the crimes of Lou Pearlman, the man behind some of the biggest music acts of the noughties and nineties - including NSYNC. Behind his pop persona though, the talent agent was also responsible for one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in US history.

With never-before-seen footage and interviews from the artists he managed, Dirty Pop is a must-watch for music and true crime fans.

Who is Lou Pearlman and what happened to him?

Lou Pearlman was an American talent manager, who was also convicted after defrauding his investors of roughly $300 million. The Ponzi scheme was among the biggest in US history and also affected those he managed.

Ironically, the music mogul had a squeaky-clean image thanks to his association with pop bands like NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys. Almost every hit song in the noughties and nineties had a connection to Pearlman, with him also being widely credited with discovering Britney Spears.

Though the music mogul was responsible for plenty of earworms, he mismanaged many of the acts he represented. Having built up his career over decades, he often exploited those he represented and took a large cut of their earnings.

Despite having multiple hits, former NSYNC member Lance Bass revealed that the band existed on just $35 a day in a shocking interview with The Guardian. It is also been reported that NSYNC earned just $10,000 each after three years of topping the charts, with Pearlman pocketing the majority of their record sales.

Pearlman’s outward success also helped him lure investors into his Ponzi scheme, with significant sums going to his record label and other businesses. Sadly, many of his ventures only ever existed on paper.

Of course, it wasn’t long until the fraudster's empire came crashing down.

In addition to being sued by those he’d previously represented, many of Pearlman’s criminal activities came after a 2006 investigation.

Though he attempted to avoid charges, temporarily fleeing the US, he was later found guilty of money laundering, conspiracy and filing a false bankruptcy.

He received 25 years in imprisonment and spent the remainder of his life in the Federal Correctional Institution, as he suffered a cardiac arrest in 2016 and died at the age of 62. 

Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam is available to stream on Netflix now.