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Boy band mogul ordered to stay in jail
2007-07-12
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the creator of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync to stay behind bars while attorneys prepare his case. Lou Pearlman, who faces charges of defrauding a bank out of $20 million, will be represented by the federal public defender's office. The 53-year-old music mogul, dressed in a blue jumpsuit and handcuffed and shackled at the waist, said little in a court appearance Wednesday. The U.S. Attorney's office opposed bail for Pearlman saying he was a "serious flight risk." A detention hearing for Pearlman has not been scheduled, the Orlando Sentinel reported. A telephone message left with the public defender's office was not immediately returned Wednesday night. Pearlman was escorted by federal marshals from Los Angeles to Orlando on Tuesday. Pearlman has been globe-trotting, though not in luxury, since his arrest in Indonesia last month. He was expelled from Bali after the FBI contacted authorities there, then transferred to U.S. custody and flown to Guam, and later to Los Angeles. He was indicted on three counts of bank fraud and single counts of mail and wire fraud for business he did with Evansville, Ind.-based Integra Bank N.A., according to court documents. Pearlman is most famous for forming boy bands in the 1990s, but was also involved in airplane charter, real estate, model scouting and restaurant ventures. He stands accused of fraudulently securing millions in bank loans with documents from a fake accounting firm. Assets have been liquidated in two bankruptcy cases against Pearlman and his companies, and he has ignored court actions against him for months. Florida investigators separately allege that he defrauded more than 1,000 individual investors out of more than $315 million. Several banks say he collectively owes them more than $120 million, according to bankruptcy court documents.
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