Fugees member Pras sentenced to 14 years in prison for role in billion-dollar finance scam
The rapper's lawyer argued that the sentence is “absurdly high” and “completely disproportionate to the offence”
Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in money laundering and campaign finance violation crimes.
The billion-dollar illegal finance dealings led by Malaysian fugitive Low Taek Jho - who is believed to be hiding out in China - saw money funnelled from a Malaysian state investment to various sources, including secretly donating money to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential election campaign through shell companies which hid its origins in a foreign interference scandal.
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Other beneficiaries of the illegal investments included US real estate and Hollywood films such as The Wolf of Wall Street. The film’s star Leonardo DiCaprio testified at the trial in Washington DC in 2023, which saw Michel convicted on 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, with sentencing taking place today, November 21.
Justice department prosecutors said Michel “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes”.
Michel plans to appeal the sentence, with his defence attorney Peter Zeidenberg saying the 14-year sentence is “absurdly high” and “completely disproportionate to the offence”, arguing a three-year prison sentence as more fitting.
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Michel has been involved in multiple legal challenges in recent years. In 2024, he filed a lawsuit against his Fugees co-founder and bandmate Lauryn Hill over the group’s failed 2023 reunion tour.
[Via: Guardian]