Boy Band Creator Pearlman Changes Plea Into Guilty

Former boy-band promoter Lou Pearlman will change his plea from not guilty to guilty on Tuesday in a scheduled hearing on his charges of bank, mail and wire fraud.

According to the federal prosecutors on Monday, Pearlman sold worthless stock, used a non-existing firm, fictitious financiers from overseas and the signature of a deceased corporate officer in order to defraud investors and banks of over $300 million.

The charges were brought against Pearlman last summer and were detailed in a complaint long of 28 pages about the 18 years of lies and frauds.

After his attorneys notified Senior U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp on Monday that he wants to change his plea, the new charges were filed.

On Thursday a hearing is scheduled to settle the agreement.

Fletcher Peacock, one of his lawyers, said: "Mr. Pearlman is going to enter a plea. It's the first step in taking responsibility for what has happened," OrlandoSentinel.com reports.

According to Peacock, Pearlman is at the Orange County Jail since July 10 and is held there without bail. He said that he decided to enter the guilty plea because is the “right thing to do.”

Pearlman gave its consent in assisting the government and the court-appointed trustee in the work of recovering the money he was accused of stealing.

He faces 25 years in prison and $ 1 million in fines according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg. The fine come as an addition to any asset the government can connect it to fraudulent proceeds.

The charges brought on Monday dated back to 1989 and included the fact that Pearlman sold worthless stock and used fictitious accounting firms to obtain bank loans.

According to prosecutors, Pearlman raised $200 million from 1,300 investors through the fraud with the help of unnamed associates.

Pearlman is best known for promoting boy bands like Backstreet boys and ‘N Sync in the 1990s. He fled the country in January 2007 as the creditors were on his tail.

He was tracked by FBI agents in Bali, Indonesia and arrested by U.S. authorities in Guam and returned to Orlando in July.

Via efluxmedia.com