Federal judge sentenced Pras Michel, the Fugees rapper who was convicted of conspiracy, money laundering and illegal lobbyingin April 2023, to 14 years in prison on Thursday. The musician's representative confirmed this news. Rolling Stone.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced the artist, whose real name is Prakazrel Michel, in federal court in the District of Columbia, reports Billboard. After serving her sentence, Michelle will serve three years of probation. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of decades, while his lawyers asked the judge for just three years.
Michel's lawyers will next appeal his conviction and sentence. Meanwhile, he is expected to surrender on January 27. “Throughout his career, Pras has broken barriers,” says his spokeswoman Erica Dumas. Rolling Stone. “This is not the end of his story. He appreciates the outpouring of support as he approaches his next chapter.”
In 2019, the federal government indicted Michel on four counts of illegally donating to Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign. Two years later, the government added to the indictment the charges outlined in Rolling Stone peculiarityincluding bank fraud, concealment of material facts, witness tampering, violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and acting as an unregistered agent of the People's Republic of China.
All the charges relate to Michel's relationship with Malaysian Low Taek Jho, who stole $4.5 billion from 1 Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB). The government said Michel helped funnel money from 1MDB to a campaign calling on Donald Trump to end the investigation into Low and the Chinese dissident. “What benefit will I get from trying to break laws?” He said Rolling Stone. “It's not worth it to me. Now I'm like an outcast. I have friends who don't want to talk to me because they think there's a satellite listening in on them in orbit.”
Following the verdict, the rapper asked for a retrial, claiming his lawyer David Kenner botched the case by using AI to write closing arguments. The judge rejected this request.
In the midst of all this, Pras briefly reunited with the Fugees for a few months in 2023. distanced himself from reunions with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean next year.
