5. Trans Continental Airlines Travel Services Inc. Ponzi Scheme
Year: 2006
Approx. Amount: $1+ Billion*
Company / Person Involved: Lou Pearlman
Known for being the man behind the formations, and early successes of N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys (and subsequently ripping both bands off substantially), Lou Pearlman was also the man behind the Trans Continental Airlines Travel Services Ponzi scheme that was responsible for defrauding close to a billion dollars ($300 million of which is still missing) from a total of 1,700-some-odd investors.
Trans Continental Airlines Travel Services Inc. Ponzi Scheme ©Lawrence Lucier / Gettyimages.com
In 2008, Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years behind bars for his crimes, but after only 8 years, in 2016 Lou Pearlman passed away while in custody. 2 years before passing, Pearlman was quoted by The Hollywood Reporter as saying that his scheme was “smarter” than Bernie Madoff’s because he (Pearlman) had a real way of making money (the aforementioned boy bands), while Madoff did not.