Boy-Band Promoter to Repay $300M

Court assesses damages of boy band promoter's ponzi scheme
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 16, 2008 1:47 PM CDT
Boy-Band Promoter to Repay $300M
Copies Lance Bass' memoir "Out of Sync" are displayed at a book signing appearance at Barnes & Noble book store, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007, in New York.    (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

Lou Pearlman and federal authorities have finally agreed on how much the former boy band promoter swindled from banks and investors in a decades-long scam: a staggering $300 million. That's how much the creator of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync will have to pay, at a minimum, in restitution for the fraud conviction for which he's serving a 25-year prison sentence.

A US District judge today asked prosecutors and defense attorneys to amend court documents with the agreed amount. It will be difficult for Pearlman to repay all the money while he is behind bars. Pearlman made millions in the record industry in the 1990s, but investigators have found that money and more seemingly gone with the collapse of his Ponzi scheme. (More Lou Pearlman stories.)

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