massive fraud, and the state took possession of the company. Most of the at least $95 million which was collected from investors was gone. Orange County Circuit Judge Renee Roche ordered Pearlman and two of his associates, Robert Fischetti and Michael Crudelle, to bring back to the United States "any assets taken abroad which were derived from illegal transactions." Following a flight from officials, over the course of which he reportedly had been seen in Israel and Germany, Pearlman was arrested in Indonesia on June 14, 2007, after being spotted by a tourist couple from Germany. He was living in a tourist hotel in Nusa Dua in Bali. Pearlman had been seen in Orlando in late January 2007, in early February in Germany, including an appearance on German television on February 1. Reportedly he was seen in Russia, Belarus, Israel, Spain, Panama, and Brazil. In early February, an attorney in Florida received a letter from Pearlman sent from Bali. Pearlman was then indicted by a federal grand jury on June 27, 2007. Specifically, Pearlman was charged with conspiracy, money laundering, and filing false bankruptcy. Conviction and sentencing Five days before his sentencing in May 2008, Pearlman requested a telephone and an Internet connection two days a week to continue to promote bands. Federal judge G. Kendall Sharp of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida rejected the request. On May 21, 2008, Sharp sentenced Pearlman to 25 years in prison on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding. Pearlman could reduce his prison time by one month for every million dollars he helped a bankruptcy trustee recover. He also ordered individual investors to be paid before institutions in distributing any eventual assets. Bankruptcy Pearlman and his companies were forced into involuntary bankruptcy in March 2007. Trustees and lenders intended to auction off Pearlman's assets and personal belongings, including a mansion full of well-known works of art and priceless memorabilia. They quickly discovered the art and memorabilia was mostly fake. What could be sold was auctioned through eBay and a traditional bankruptcy auction house. Church Street Station, a historic train station in downtown Orlando which Pearlman had purchased in 2002, was sold at a bankruptcy auction in April 2007 for $34 million. Several of Pearlman's belongings, including his college degrees, were purchased by The A.V. Club journalist and film critic Nathan Rabin