Topic: Lou Pearlman

Louis Jay "Lou" Pearlman (born June 19, 1954) is a former impresario of the successful 1990s boy bands the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. In 2006 it was discovered that Pearlman had perpetrated one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in American history, leaving more than $300 million in debts. After getting caught on the run, and pleading guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding, in 2008 Pearlman was convicted and sentenced to (up to) 25 years.

Pearlman was born and raised in Flushing, Queens, the only child of Jewish parents Hy, who ran a dry cleaning business and Reenie Pearlman, a school lunchroom aide. (Pearlman is the first cousin of Art Garfunkel, their mothers being sisters.) His home at Mitchell Gardens Apartments was located across from Flushing Airport, where he and childhood friend Alan Gross would watch blimps take off and land. According to Pearlman's autobiography, Bands, Brands and Billions, it was during this period that he used his position on his school newspaper to earn credentials and get his first ride in a blimp. (This version of events is disputed by Gross, who claims he was the school reporter, and allowed Pearlman to tag along.)

His cousin Garfunkel's fame and wealth helped fire Pearlman's own interest in the music business. As a teenager he managed a band, but when success in music proved elusive, he turned his attention to aviation. During his first year as a student at Queens College, Pearlman wrote a business plan for a class project based on the idea of a helicopter taxi service in New York City. By the late 1970s, he had launched the business based on his business plan, starting with one helicopter. He convinced German businessman Theodor Wüllenkemper to train him on blimps, and subsequently spent some time at Wüllenkemper's facilities in Germany learning about the airships.