Convicted of illegal foreign lobbying and conspiracy charges by a jury of his peers, on Thursday (11.20,) The Fugees rapper Pras Michel was sentenced to fourteen years in jail.
Having risen to fame alongside his bandmates Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, Michel was found guilty in 2023 on accusations that he orchestrated a “foreign influence campaign” to get the United States to drop an investigation into fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low. In October the musician was ordered to forfeit $64,000,000.00 that was allegedly linked to the scheme.
In an interview with Billboard, Michel’s spokeswoman Erica Dumas said “Pras has spent his career breaking barriers and defying expectations. While today marks a difficult moment, it is not the end of his story or his legacy. He is profoundly grateful for the continued support of those who believe in him as he prepares for what lies ahead.”
In 2019, Pras was accused of funneled money from Low, the mastermind of a billion-dollar embezzlement scheme, to a lobbying campaign aimed at getting the first Trump administration to drop its investigation into the disgraced financier. The 53-year old musician was also accused of secretly funneling Low’s money to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, and of later trying to influence an extradition case on behalf of China.
Following the April 2023 trial that included testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio, Pras Michel was convicted on ten counts.
The Fugees rose to fame in the 1990s with hits like ‘Killing Me Softly’ and ‘Fu-Gee-La,” and after splitting up in 1998, Hill, Jean and Michel each had successful solo careers.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: MiamiFilmFestival