Backstreet Boys Founder Lou Pearlman Dies in Prison At 62

Washington: Lou Pearlman, the producer who launched the hit 1990s boy band groups Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, has died in prison while serving a 25-year sentence for bilking investors of $300 million.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said the disgraced businessman died on Friday, providing no other details. He was 62.

Inspired by the success of the boy band New Kids on the Block, Mr Pearlman recruited a group of unknowns to form the Backstreet Boys, which gained massive popularity in 1996, becoming one of the bestselling boy bands of all time.

The group sold more than 130 million records, its website says.

Some members of Mr Pearlman's other bands, including Justin Timberlake of NSYNC and Britney Spears, went on to achieve major stardom with solo careers.

But Mr Pearlman was convicted in 2008 of fraud and cheating investors - including friends and family - out of more than $300 million through Ponzi and bank-fraud schemes that lasted two decades.

He had been serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas.

Mr Timberlake tweeted on Sunday:

I hope he found some peace. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.

— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) August 21, 2016

Lance Bass, another former NSYNC member also tweeted:

Word is that #LouPearlman has passed away. He might not have been a stand up businessman , but I (cont) https://t.co/nsczUEVOOQ

— Lance Bass (@LanceBass) August 20, 2016

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)