American Bank Vs. Pearlman

Trans Continental Records President Louis Pearlman is being sued by a Minnesota bank for failing to reconcile a $28.5 million loan he’d taken out to purchase the "Top of the Pops," a weekly TV show in Britain.

Pearlman offered stakes in both his record and chartered jet companies as collateral to the American Bank of St. Paul, according to court documents obtained by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

But the BBC canceled the "Top of the Pops" last year, and no one is sure whether Pearlman actually purchased the show. He has reportedly failed to pay back the loan so the bank has gone after those promised company stakes.

Pearlman’s record company owns the royalties to the Backstreet Boys and ‘Nsync catalogs, and he has been credited with launching the careers of those acts. He currently manages Aaron Carter and Jordan Knight.

This is not the first time Pearlman has found himself facing legal action. In recent years he has been sued by Carter, the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency and, most recently, former clients Backstreet Boys.

The now-defunct pop group took Pearlman to court in 2005 over some unfinished business dating back to 1998, when it was released from its record contract.

At the time, Pearlman told the Orlando Sentinel he thought the group was seeking about $500,000 and made a comment that could have well been a forecast into his current legal tango.

"If it costs me a half million dollars, it doesn’t really bother me," he said. "When you have millions of dollars, the lawyers are always coming after you."

Trans Continental spokeswoman Elizabeth Neff told Pollstar the company is working with the bank to resolve the matter.