Fugees rapper Prakazrel Pras Michel has been sentenced to a hefty 14 years in prison, per reporting by NPR. He was convicted of illegally funneling several millions of dollars toward President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. This sentencing comes on the heels of a federal jury convicting him of ten criminal counts revolving around conspiracy and acting as an agent for a foreign government in 2023. Set in Washington, D.C., Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified.
Initially, the guidelines suggested a full life sentence for these crimes. Prosecutors felt like Pras “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes. His sentence should reflect the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed,” they say.
However, Michel’s defense attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, feels that this is an irrational sentencing. Consequently, they plan to appeal his conviction and sentence. They claim that these high-volume sentences should only go towards the terrorists and cartel leaders.
Pras Plans to Fight Back Against 14-Year Prison Sentence
“The Government’s position is one that would cause Inspector Javert to recoil and, if anything, simply illustrates just how easily the Guidelines can be manipulated to produce absurd results, and how poorly equipped they are, at least on this occasion, to determine a fair and just sentence,” Pras Michel’s attorneys write.
All of this takes place because Pras accepted a staggering $120 million from Malaysian billionaire Low Taek Jho (AKA Jho Low). Then, the Fugees rapper funneled a chunk of the money into President Barack Obama’s 2nd presidential campaign through straw donors in 2012. Due to his connection with the billionaire, Pras attempted to intervene in the Justice Department’s investigation of Low.
Jho Low is best known in America for his role in financing DiCaprio’s hit film, The Wolf of Wall Street. Given the debacle with Pras, he’s been a fugitive ever since. Still, he maintains his innocence. “Low’s motivation for giving Mr. Michel money to donate was not so that he could achieve some policy objective. Instead, Low simply wanted to obtain a photograph with himself and then-President Obama,” Michel’s attorneys wrote.
Pras is best known for his role in the iconic hip-hop group Fugees. Raised in Brooklyn by Haitian parents, he created the group alongside old friends Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. Together, they sold millions of records with their classic The Score and won 2 Grammys.
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