Fugees' Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

"Pras, 53, was initially found guilty in April 2023 on 10 federal counts, including campaign finance violations, money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and lying to banks. His sentence also includes three years of probation and he must forfeit more than $64 million, according to . The case centered around Low Taek Jho, aka "Jho Low," a fugitive businessman who was accused of embezzling $4.5 billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad."

"Michel allegedly worked on Jho's behalf, intentionally failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and attempting to influence two different presidential administrations, by pouring millions of dollars into Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign through straw donors, and by lobbying Donald Trump's administration to halt a DOJ investigation into 1MDB. Michel was allegedly paid tens of millions of dollars for his services."

"Michel purportedly rejected a deal that would have let him plead guilty to obstruction of justice and a lesser violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Under terms of the deal, he would have spent up to 16 months in prisons, and the government would have returned a portion of the millions of dollars seized from Michel's accounts. Michel rebuffed the plea deal and demanded that all of his seized money be returned."

Pras Michel received a 14-year prison sentence, plus three years probation, and must forfeit more than $64 million following convictions on 10 federal counts. Convictions included campaign finance violations, money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and lying to banks. The scheme centered on Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, who allegedly embezzled $4.5 billion from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Michel allegedly acted as an unregistered foreign agent, funneled campaign contributions through straw donors, lobbied administrations to halt investigations, and was paid tens of millions. Michel rejected a plea offering up to 16 months and return of some seized funds.

Read at Consequence