Fugees’ Pras Michel jailed for 14 years after illegal funding scheme for Obama's 2012 Presidential bid

Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, the Grammy-winning rapper and founding member of the Fugees, was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of illegally channelling foreign money into Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and engaging in a broader influence scheme.

The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., follows Michel’s conviction in April 2023 on 10 counts, including conspiracy, making false statements and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign power. 

Prosecutors say the scheme involved millions of dollars routed from Malaysian financier Jho Low through straw donors and shadowy conduits to conceal the foreign source. The government argued Michel then used some of that money to funnel campaign contributions and to lobby officials in the United States on behalf of foreign interests, including efforts to stymie probes into the 1MDB scandal. The indictment also accused Michel of attempting to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation and of giving false testimony during proceedings. 

The trial drew high-profile testimony. Witnesses included actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, called as part of the government’s account of Michel’s outreach and the financial networks at the heart of the case. Defence lawyers have sharply criticised the punishment as excessive and announced plans to appeal, arguing procedural errors and raising questions over aspects of the trial, including the use of AI by an earlier lawyer in preparing closing arguments. 

The court also ordered substantial forfeiture  nearly $65 million, according to reports and imposed three years of supervised release to follow incarceration. Prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines could have carried a life term given the scale and gravity of the offences, but the judge chose a lesser, though still stringent, custodial sentence. Michel declined to address the court at sentencing. 

For decades a household name in music, Michel’s fall from pop stardom to a conviction on federal conspiracy charges marks a dramatic denouement to a case that has entwined celebrity, international finance and U.S. politics. His legal team has vowed to pursue appeals and to seek reconsideration of both conviction and sentence.