Bye, Bye, Bye

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Boy band mogul Lou Pearlman was sentenced this morning to 25 years in federal prison for running a lengthy, systematic con that artificially inflated his net worth and cheated people out of $300 million.

During Pearlman’s sentencing in U.S. District Court this morning, Senior U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp offered Pearlman an incentive to pay back his investors: for every $1 million he puts back in investors’ pockets, he gets one month off of his sentence. Since Pearlman’s sentence is for 300 months, he can avoid prison altogether if he forks up the cash. “I’m going to give you the keys to your jail cell,” Sharp said. But attorneys in the case say it’s unlikely there are any vast sums hidden and the prospect of Pearlman getting out of prison is unlikely.

Pearlman, 53, was once the toast of Orlando. His financial empire included popular musical acts like the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, an airplane charter business, and Church Street Station, an iconic piece of real estate in Orlando’s downtown.

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Peacock also argued that Pearlman’s opulent lifestyle was a business requirement.”Mr. Pearlman did live large, if you will, but judge, he was in the entertainment business,” Peacock said.