Former Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC manager Lou Pearlman has been sentenced to 25 years jail.


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The music mogul was handed the sentence yesterday (21.05.08) after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy, money laundering and using false statements.

However, the sentence can be reduced if he pays back the money he owes.

Pearlman reportedly swindled banks and 1000 individuals out of over more than USD400 million by persuading them to invest in fake companies. Judge G. Kendall Sharp said that for every USD1 million Pearlman pays back, he will have a month taken off his sentence.

In court, the judge held up a book with letters from the Pearl’s victims and said: “This includes his family, his close friends and people in their 70s and 80s who have lost their life savings. So the sympathy factor doesn’t run high with the court.”

Pearlman had fought unsuccessfully to have his sentencing delayed so he could market his latest venture, boyband US5, in America and Asia. He claimed the money he earned would help pay off his victims.

He proposed a plan to be allowed to run his business with supervised telephone and internet access while in custody, but his suggestion was thrown out after prosecutors argued his fraud convictions meant he couldn’t be trusted.

Among the money Pearlman owes is $3 million to his former clients, The Backstreet Boys.