Louis Jay Pearlman was an American record producer, boy band mogul, and convicted criminal. He created the successful 1990s boy bands such as Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Pearlman developed passion for music and aviation quite early in his life and endeavoured in both the fields that saw him managing a band as a teenager and later starting a helicopter taxi business in New York City. He managed his own companies in the 1980s, which included a blimp advertising company as well. Pearlman eventually turned his focus on the music business and created Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. He also managed other boy bands such as O-Town, US5, Natural, Take 5, and LFO. Most of his groups later sued him for misrepresentation and fraud, and in 2006 he was accused of operating one of the largest and longest-running American Ponzi schemes that involved defrauding investors of over $300 million. Following his arrest, Pearlman pleaded guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding and was eventually convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 2016, Pearlman died in federal custody while serving his prison term.