Boy Band Magnate Lou Pearlman Gets Twenty-Five Years in Prison

Lou Pearlman, the boy band Svengali who helped guide the Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC to chart-topping success, was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison today for charges that he bilked investors and banks out of over $300 million dollars. Over two decades, Pearlman convinced investors to dump money into two companies that only existed on paper. Among Pearlman's victims were "his family, his close friends and people in their 70s and 80s who have lost their life savings." The sentencing brings to a close the story of Pearlman who, upon learning that federal charges were coming, escaped to Bali, only to be caught last June by Indonesian police.

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Song Stories

“My President”

Young Jeezy | 2008

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."

More Song Stories entries »

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