Plot Synopsis

DIRTY POP: THE BOY BAND SCAM is a three-part documentary that tracks the rise and fall of Lou Pearlman, the music mogul who created and exploited some of the biggest boy bands of the '90s including Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town. With never-before-seen archive and unique access highlighting the artists' epic rise to global stardom, this series uncovers Lou Pearlman's web of lies, revealing the harsh realities of fame, power, exploitation and greed. Pearlman was sued for misrepresentation and fraud by a number of the musical acts he'd managed. The artists claimed that he and his management company exploited them and unfairly pocketed the majority of their earnings. He was eventually bought out of their contracts. Following to his legal issues with his artists, Pearlman was also sued by Cheney Mason, the defense lawyer he'd hired to represent him in the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC cases. Mason alleged that Pearlman owed him millions for his services, but the music mogul claimed that he didn't have the funds to pay. What landed him behind bars was the discovery of an extensive, decades-long fraudulent enterprise, considered to be one of the longest-running Ponzi schemes in American history. Despite the undeniable success of his talent roster, Pearlman owed more than $200 million to various banks. To keep his business afloat, he spent some 20 years enticing thousands of private investors (including his artists, close friends, and business partners) to entrust him with roughly $300 million of their savings for an "FDIC-insured" savings program affiliated with Trans Continental Airlines Inc. and Trans Continental Airlines Travel Services Inc. -- corporations that didn't actually exist. Alongside the people that worked on the corporate end of Pearlman's business, several of Pearlman's artists make an appearance, including including Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean and Howie Dorough, *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, Natural's Michael Johnson and Patrick King, and O-Town's Erik-Michael Estrada of O-Town. All three episodes of DIRTY POP: THE BOY BAND SCAM dropped on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 on Netflix.