The new documentary series has just dropped on Netflix.
"Lou Pearlman changed music culture forever," reads the description of new Netflix documentary Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, which plans to reveal the harsh realities of "fame, power, exploitation and greed".
At the centre of the documentary is Pearlman, who launched the careers of The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, O-Town and many more, but he was hiding "a dark secret" that eventually came to the light in the years that followed his success.
Featuring never-before-seen archival footage and access, the docuseries aims to uncover Pearlman's "web of lies".
But who is Lou Pearlman and where is he now? Read on for everything you need to know.
Lou Pearlman was an American talent manager, behind the some of America's most well-known boybands including Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.
However, in 2006, Pearlman was accused of running of the largest 'Ponzi schemes' in US history, racking up more than $300 million in debts.
Following his successes, Pearlman founded TransContinental, a group of businesses he claimed to own, and attracted investors through the fame of boy bands – but this company only existed on paper.
In 2008, Pearlman admitted to defrauding thousands of people and 10 banks out of hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of 20 years.
"I'm accepting full responsibility," Pearlman told Judge G Kendall Sharp as he pleaded guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements during bankruptcy proceedings.
In a courtroom statement, Pearlman said: "Over the past nine months since my arrest, I've come to realise the harm that's been done. I'm truly sorry and I apologise for what's happened."
Two months after a lengthy trial, Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in prison with a predicted release date of 24th March 2029.
In 2010, Pearlman suffered a stroke. He was diagnosed with an infection of a heart valve and had surgery to replace it.
In 2016, Pearlman died from cardiac arrest while serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami. He was 62 years old.
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Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
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