Boy band mogul Pearlman faces Florida fraud case

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Former boy band impresario Lou Pearlman, known for launching the 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys bands, refused on Wednesday to enter a plea to fraud charges in an alleged $100 million swindle.

Pearlman, who left the United States in January ahead of the federal charges and was caught in Indonesia using the alias A. Incognito Johnson, was ordered held without bond pending a future hearing.

"In order to not waive any jurisdictional issues that may arise, I will stand mute, Mr. Pearlman will stand mute as to the indictment," his lawyer, Fletcher Peacock, told Judge Donald Dietrich during an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Orlando.

The judge entered a not guilty plea for Pearlman and ordered that he continue to be represented at no cost by a public defender.

Pearlman faces 130 years in prison and a $3 million fine if convicted of all charges in the federal indictment, which includes three charges of bank fraud involving more than $100 million, mail fraud and wire fraud.

The indictment accuses him of scheming to defraud banks by overstating assets and presenting false documents and fake tax returns.

Pearlman and his businesses also face securities fraud charges filed by the state of Florida. Gerald McHale, who was appointed as a receiver in that case to maintain Pearlman's assets, has said Pearlman has $160 million in lawsuits and judgments against him and that the total could rise to over $300 million.

Pearlman, a onetime millionaire who lived in a central Florida mansion and flew his own jet, arrived in Orlando on Tuesday in the custody of U.S. marshals after an international search that included reports of sightings in Germany, Panama and Indonesia.

Details of a report on Pearlman's ability to pay for his own lawyer were not made public.

But Denise Dell-Powell, assistant to the trustee appointed by a judge in an involuntary bankruptcy case against Pearlman, said investigators were searching for his assets.

Dell-Powell said Pearlman appeared to have an ownership interest in a boy band called US5, which debuted in 2005 and had won the German equivalent of a Grammy award.S. District Court in Orlando.

The judge entered a not guilty plea for Pearlman and ordered that he continue to be represented at no cost by a public defender.

Pearlman faces 130 years in prison and a $3 million fine if convicted of all charges in the federal indictment, which includes three charges of bank fraud involving more than $100 million, mail fraud and wire fraud.

The indictment accuses him of scheming to defraud banks by overstating assets and presenting false documents and fake tax returns.

Pearlman and his businesses also face securities fraud charges filed by the state of Florida. Gerald McHale, who was appointed as a receiver in that case to maintain Pearlman's assets, has said Pearlman has $160 million in lawsuits and judgments against him and that the total could rise to over $300 million.

Pearlman, a onetime millionaire who lived in a central Florida mansion and flew his own jet, arrived in Orlando on Tuesday in the custody of U.S. marshals after an international search that included reports of sightings in Germany, Panama and Indonesia.

Details of a report on Pearlman's ability to pay for his own lawyer were not made public.

But Denise Dell-Powell, assistant to the trustee appointed by a judge in an involuntary bankruptcy case against Pearlman, said investigators were searching for his assets.

Dell-Powell said Pearlman appeared to have an ownership interest in a boy band called US5, which debuted in 2005 and had won the German equivalent of a Grammy award.

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