Lou Pearlman, a former music mogul who launched the careers of boy bands The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, has died at age 62 while serving a 25-year prison sentence for swindling investors and banks out of more than $300 million US, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said on its website. In 2010, Pearlman suffered a stroke while behind bars, according to media reports. After running a business operating blimps, Pearlman started a record label, guiding the 1990s-era Backstreet Boys, whose hits included Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), and NSYNC, known for such songs as This I Promise You and I Want You Back. The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were two of the most successful male vocal groups of the 1990s, appealing to teen audiences with carefully constructed harmonies. Pearlman's relationships with the boy bands he helped launch eventually faltered, with most of them, including The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, suing him for fraud, according to Billboard.

Source: CBC News August 21, 2016 13:41 UTC