Fugees rapper Pras was found guilty Wednesday of 10 counts related to a multimillion-dollar “clandestine foreign influence campaign scheme” funded by a wealthy Malaysian financier to peddle influence in the United States, according to the Associated Press and other news outlets.
The trial included testimony from witnesses ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The rapper, whose real name is Prakazrel Michel, was accused of funneling money from Low Taek Jho, a now-fugitive Malaysian financer, through false donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, and then attempting to quash a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.
His defense attorneys argued that Michel simply wanted to make money and received bad legal advice in the unfamiliar world of politics.
Michel first met Low in 2006, who was moving in celebrity circles at the time and helped finance films including the DiCaprio-starring “Wolf of Wall Street.” DiCaprio testified that Low had seemed to be a legitimate businessman and had mentioned wanting to donate to Obama’s campaign.
Michel also testified in his own defense. He said Low wanted a picture with Obama in 2012 and was willing to pay millions of dollars to get it. Michel agreed to help and used some of the money he got to pay for friends to attend fundraising events — he claimed he was unaware that such activity was illegal.
Prosecutors stated that Michel was donating the money on Low’s behalf, and later tried to pressure the fake donors not to speak with investigators. They also said that after Donald Trump became president, Michel again took millions from Low to halt an investigation into a money-laundering and bribery scheme that took billions from a Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB. Prosecutors also said Michel was paid in an effort to persuade the U.S. to extradite to China a government critic suspected of crimes there.
Low, who has maintained his innocence, currently is a fugitive.
As a member of the Fugees, Michel was a multiplatinum superstar in the 1990s and scored a global solo hit in 1998 with his “Ghetto Supastar” single and album. However it was seven years before he released another album, which met with a less successful reception, and the Fugees announced an international reunion tour celebrating the 25 th anniversary of their blockbuster album “The Score” in 2021. However, after one preliminary concert, that tour was abruptly canceled in January 2022 for reasons that the group said due to the COVID pandemic but may have been related to Michel’s ongoing legal problems.
