Ponzi Schemer Lou Pearlman Boy Band Genius Greedily Ruins Legitimate Enterprise

Pearlman's start in business began with his fascination with inflated marketing in 1984, and ended just the same in 2007.

Lou Pearlman and Blimp Advertising

Pearlman's first enterprise was a company called Airship Enterprises Ltd. For New Yorkers or Floridians who recall blimps flying the logos of McDonald's, MetLife Insurance, or Sea World, those were the brain children of Pearlman.

It was a great idea but ended in a crash; three to be exact. From this failed legitimate business enterprise, Pearlman decided it would be easier to make more money getting people to invest their money into a fake airline, so he purchased a small jet and called it Trans Continental Airlines. Sadly, the jet's only purpose was to fly himself and investors around.

With TCA and continuously flowing records from a fictitious accounting firm, Pearlman was able to gather more money than would have been possible for a personal plane operation. The idea was that investors were getting in on the ground floor of a company that was going to go public just as Airship Enterprises Ltd. had.

Pearlman began to have a growing number of investors to include several banks and decided it was time to broaden his horizons.