The former mogul behind NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys has been in prison for a few years after his ponzi scheme unraveled: At the time it was among the largest in history, although it has since been eclipsed many times over by Bernie Madoff.

But Lou Pearlman isn't one to let a minor inconvenience like prison get in the way of his business. Operating from a federal prison cell in Florida, Sweet Lou is managing a southern rock band called Biteboy with collect calls from the prison pay phone. Tyler Gray -- the author of a biography of Mr. Pearlman that I reviewed here -- reports that "Pearlman has also facilitated what could be Biteboy's breakthrough -- a reality-TV series about the group's attempts to become famous, put together by Jonathan Murray, the television producer behind MTV's The Real World."

The best business books are almost always the ones about scandal.

Success is great, but it's much more interesting to read about a convoluted web of lies designed to bilk investors out of $500 million over 20 years in what is possibly the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history (with the exception of Social Security).

In The Hit Charade: Lou Pearlman, Boy Bands, and the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in U.S. History, Radar reporter Tyler Gray examines boy band mogul Lou Perlman's illustrious career that involved deception from the beginning. It started with an airline that didn't own any planes but was able to raise hundreds of millions to fund a lavish lifestyle and later provide the start-up capital to form hit boy bands including N'SYNC, The Backstreet Boys, and O-Town.

Gray writes well, with an eye for what's interesting and relevant -- I read the entire book in an afternoon, and The Hit Charade isn't bogged down with the minutiae of the scam the way that so many of these books are. Instead it paints an interesting portrait of a complex charlatan -- Gray was the only reporter to interview Pearlman while he was behind bars.

What sets Pearlman apart from so many other frauds is that his impact is so enduring: He created the soundtrack for a generation of teenage girls, and paved the way for Justin Timberlake to become one of the biggest pop stars ever. Without Lou Pearlman, there never would have been this.

We recently presented a look at some of the most notorious financial felons of contemporary times.

Since then, news has included the indictment of Mark Cuban for insider trading in a case that is somewhat reminiscent of Martha Stewart's case. According to the SEC, the billionaire entrepreneur asked his broker to sell all his shares of Mamma.com after the company's CEO confidentially told him of an impending stock offering that would dilute the value of all existing shares. By selling before the information became public, Cuban is said to have sidestepped losses of more than $750,000. Cuban insists, though, that no agreement existed to keep the information confidential.

And then there was the indictment in Texas of Vice President Dick Cheney, along with former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others. There seems to be a conflict of interest between the vice president's influence on the federal agency that oversees federal immigration detention centers and his substantial holdings in Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies. But does the lame-duck county district attorney, who was a no-show in court, have the authority to bring charges against federal officials with regard to federally run institutions?

This post is part of a feature in which he wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

Back in the 1990s, Lou Pearlman was a well-know boy band mogul and talent scout, handling such talent as the BackStreet Boys and 'NSync. But in 2006 it became clear that Pearlman had perpetrated one of the biggest and longest running Ponzi schemes in American history.

It all started with a fake travel agency and grew into a complex enterprise comprised of many entities, funded by millions from banks and investors. The state of Florida, the FBI, the IRS, and the FDIC all took part in investigations. In 2007, Pearlman's attorneys filed suit to withdraw from representing him and Pearlman's assets were seized and his companies put into bankruptcy. Pearlman fled the country but was arrested after being spotted in Indonesia. He was promptly indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud.

With a year like that, he easily made BloggingStocks' list of Money Losers of 2007.

Lou Pearlman, the airplane entrepreneur turned boy band promoter turned modeling agency con-artist, has been ordered to repay $300 million to investors he bilked in a decade-long Ponzi scheme.

It's been a stunning downfall for Pearlman, who is now serving a 25-year prison sentence. He was the Svengali behind the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, but was later sued by both bands, and accused of inappropriate sexual conduct by several former band members, most notably Nick Carter.

Interesting trivia item: Mr. Pearlman is the first cousin of Art Garfunkel. Take a look at this funny video from Saturday Night Live, parodying Mr. Pearlman.

News Corp (NYSE:NWS) today announced that it will revamp its Fox Business Network lineup in response to recent viewership reports showing that Americans would rather undergo a cavity search than watch the shows.

Drawing upon inspiration from its successful Fox Entertainment division, we hear that a number of new programs are under consideration:

• Homer Nose Business -- a "Simpsons" take on making 'd'oh' in the food and beverage industries, with field reporters Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Jr. and Moe Szyslak.
• 24:00 Stocks -- Kiefer Sutherland hosts a new studio show in which CEOs of tanking corporations are subjected to waterboarding and other amusing non-torture interview techniques in order to extract crucial investor information.
• American Idle --The 'idle rich' report by Paris Hilton, featuring the latest exposés directly from the wellspring of the trickle-down economy.
• Prison Break-- Five-minute updates hosted by Andrew Fastow, Conrad Black and Lou Pearlman, live from their offices in U.S. Federal government facilities.

Lou Pearlman once seemed to possess the secret formula for making millions by putting together popular boy bands that could churn out hits. Most famously, he created the Backstreet Boys and 'NSync, which sold $100 million and $56 million records respectively. By some accounts, the boys didn't get too rich off the deal, but Pearlman did.

But Pearlman's fortunes have long since turned and now he is being held on charges of running a fraudulent savings program. Claims against him run to $500 million. He was arrested in June in Indonesia and indicted by a Federal Grand Jury and the trial is slated to begin next March. Pearlman insists on his innocence. Meantime, allegations that he liked the young male performers for a lot more than their singing and dancing abilities are swirling.

Although Pearlman is no doubt one of 2007's great losers, it is unclear how much money he actually lost this past year. He may have squandered most of it long ago, perhaps keeping his Ponzi savings scheme afloat. If he is found guilty, he could be on the hook for those $500 millions investors lost in his savings plan.

I was too old to appreciate the boy bands Pearlman created and promoted when they were in their heyday. But I can confess that I gained a new found appreciation for the Backstreet Boys -- and even bought a CD for my daughter --not long ago after watching the famous and wonderful Chinese Boys lip-sync to their tune, "I Want It That Way."

Pearlman's success may have been short-lived and no doubt his fortunes are falling fast. But through the wonders of YouTube, the music he helped create will live on.

Be sure to check out other Money Losers of 2007.