Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Silent Pearlman back in Orlando and court

At an Indonesian hotel, the music mogul was registered as ''A. Incognito Johnson,'' official says.

By HELEN HUNTLEY
Published July 12, 2007

ORLANDO - Back in his hometown for the first time in six months, music producer Lou Pearlman had nothing to say Wednesday to federal charges he cheated banks out of more than $100-million.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Dietrich entered a "not guilty" plea on the silent Pearlman's behalf, set his trial for Sept. 4 and ordered that he be held without bail at least for now.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg described Pearlman, creator of the Backstreet Boys and other acts, as a flight risk. Since he left Orlando in January, Pearlman has been in Europe, Asia and Central America. Handberg said Pearlman had papers with him to establish residency in Panama. He was captured in Indonesia last month, where Handberg said he was registered in a hotel under the name "A. Incognito Johnson" and used a credit card "that belonged to someone else with the name of Johnson."

"He left because the world as he knew it was falling apart," Handberg said.

Investigators estimate Pearlman owes more than $400-million, most of it to investors caught up in one of the largest and longest-running investment schemes in Florida history.

Many are retirees, including many from the Tampa Bay area, who say they were tricked into believing their money was going into a high-yielding but safe accounts. Their money is still missing.

Last month's grand jury indictment accuses Pearlman of defrauding banks of more than $100-million through false representations, which included phony financial statements prepared by a non-existent accounting firm and documents signed by a dead man. The indictment's five counts of bank, mail and wire fraud all relate to $20-million in loans from Integra Bank of Evansville, Ind. Additional counts related to other banks and to the investors could be added later.

About 75 people crowded into the Orlando courtroom Wednesday, including courthouse employees who filled the jury box to watch the proceedings. Handberg had investigators from the FBI, FDIC, IRS and Florida Office of Financial Regulation lined up beside and behind him.

Pearlman sat between two public defenders, whispering a few times to one, but only nodding as the judge addressed him. His face displayed no emotion as he listened to the proceedings, occasionally wiping his hand across his brow.

Pearlman appeared in black jail garb with "Orange County Corrections" written across the back of his shirt and the size in prominent letters (6X for the shirt, 4X for the pants).

He was led into the courtroom in handcuffs shackled to a chain around his waist. The handcuffs and chain were removed for the hearing, but his legs remained shackled.

Dietrich said Pearlman was entitled to a public defender because of no known changes in his financial condition since a judge in Guam ruled he qualified. The information Pearlman provided to the court about his financial condition is sealed.

Dietrich said he would reconsider the issue of bail for Pearlman if public defender Fletcher Peacock presented a case for it.

Pearlman left his Orlando music empire in shambles. Creditors forced him into bankruptcy in absentia and many of his companies followed.

A bankruptcy trustee has been selling off his assets, including vehicles, furniture and the gold records collected by his boy bands. A second auction of his possessions is scheduled for Aug. 25.

Helen Huntley can be reached at hhuntley@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8230.

Fast Facts:

The proceedings

June 14: The FBI arrests Lou Pearlman in Indonesia and flies him to Guam.

June 27: Pearlman is indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of bank fraud and single counts of mail and wire fraud.

Wednesday: Pearlman is brought before a magistrate judge in Orlando to hear the charges against him. The judge enters a not guilty plea on his behalf, schedules his trial for Sept. 4 and orders that he be held without bail.

[Last modified July 11, 2007, 23:06:45]