Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, a founding member of the Fugees, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday for illegally funneling millions in foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.
Michel, 52, did not speak in court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly handed down the sentence.
In April 2023, a federal jury convicted him on 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The trial in Washington, D.C., featured testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Prosecutors argued Michel “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes,” recommending a life sentence based on federal guidelines. They stated that his punishment should reflect “the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed.”
Michel’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, called the 14-year sentence “completely disproportionate” and plans to appeal. He had originally suggested a three-year sentence, noting that life terms are typically reserved for deadly terrorists or drug cartel leaders.
A Brooklyn native, Michel was a founding member of the Fugees alongside Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. The group sold tens of millions of albums and won two Grammy Awards.
Prosecutors say Michel obtained more than $120 million from Malaysian billionaire Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and funneled some of it through straw donors to Obama’s campaign. Michel reportedly considered the payments “free money” and accepted them over nine months to help Low secure a photo op with Obama, claiming he wasn’t aware such donations could be illegal.
The Justice Department also accused Michel of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China in 2017, attempting to influence the Trump administration to drop its probe into Low and extradite Chinese dissident Miles Guo, who is still in custody in the U.S.
Low, a fugitive residing in China and one of the financiers of the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street,” has denied wrongdoing. Michel’s attorneys argued that Low’s goal was simply a photograph with Obama, not policy influence.
In August 2024, a judge rejected Michel’s request for a new trial, which was partly based on his defense attorney’s use of artificial intelligence during closing arguments, ruling that it did not constitute a serious miscarriage of justice.
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