Fugees fans woke up to a plot twist straight out of a political thriller: Prakazrel “Pras” Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for his role in an international influence scheme that reached all the way to Barack Obama’s 2012 re‑election campaign.
- He’s 52 years old, born in Brooklyn to parents who immigrated from Haiti.
- He co-founded the Fugees, one of the most influential hip-hop groups of the ’90s.
- Even while the legal storm raged, he performed with the group as recently as 2023.
The Brooklyn-born rapper, best known as one-third of the legendary Fugees alongside Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, is now at the center of one of the most jaw-dropping campaign finance scandals in recent memory.
What Pras Michel Was Convicted Of
In April 2023, a federal jury found Pras Michel guilty on 10 counts, including:
- Conspiracy
- Acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government
- Campaign finance violations tied to Obama’s 2012 campaign
According to the US Department of Justice, Michel ran a scheme powered by $120 million from Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), who sought political influence in the United States. Michel allegedly took that money and used networks of straw donors to disguise where the cash really came from before it landed in US politics.
How the $120 Million Scheme Worked
Here’s the alleged playbook, in plain language:
- Money source: Jho Low sends Michel massive sums of money — ultimately around $120 million, prosecutors said.
- Straw donors: Michel then distributes chunks of that cash to roughly 20 “straw” donors — people who would donate in their own names.
- Political pipeline: Those donors write checks to the Obama 2012 re‑election campaign, making the money look like it came from US citizens instead of a wealthy foreign financier.
- Influence goal: Behind the scenes, Jho Low hoped the donations would buy him clout and access in Washington, DC.
Federal law strictly bans foreign nationals from directly or indirectly contributing to US political campaigns — and it certainly bans laundering that money through fake donors.
Why Prosecutors Pushed for a Life Sentence
If 14 years sounds intense, remember: prosecutors actually asked for a life sentence.
In court filings, they accused Michel of:
- “Betraying his country for money”
- Lying “unapologetically and unrelentingly”
- Tampering with witnesses
- Perjuring himself at trial
They argued that the sentence needed to reflect “the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed.”
Ultimately, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly handed down:
- 14 years in prison
- Three years of probation
- A massive $64 million forfeiture order tied to the scheme
That’s on top of the damage done to his reputation as a Grammy-winning hip-hop pioneer.
A Trial Straight Out of Hollywood
If this all sounds like something you’d binge on a Sunday, the courtroom cast list didn’t hurt.
During the high-profile trial in Washington, DC:
- Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand to testify about his ties to Jho Low and the now-infamous 1MDB money trail.
- Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions also testified, adding another layer of political weight to the proceedings.
Between Oscar winners and former top law enforcement officials, the Pras Michel trial blurred the line between celebrity culture, international finance, and hardball politics.
WATCH “The Burial
From Fugees Fame to Federal Time
For fans who grew up with “Ready or Not” and “Killing Me Softly”, this sentencing hits especially hard.
A few key facts about Pras that make the fall even more dramatic:
Now, instead of reunion tours and nostalgia shows, the conversation is about prison time, forfeiture orders, and appeals.
What Pras’ Legal Team Says Happens Next
Michel’s lawyer, Peter Zeidenberg, blasted the idea of a life sentence as “absurdly high” and recommended just three years.
After sentencing, his team made it clear: this fight isn’t over. They plan to appeal both the conviction and the sentence, arguing that Pras didn’t fully understand the political and legal implications of what he was doing.
His spokesperson, Erica Dumas, told Rolling Stone that Pras has always “broken barriers” and insisted, “This is not the end of his story.”
Whether an appeals court agrees remains to be seen — but for now, the official story is simple: Pras Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for illegal foreign campaign donations and related crimes.
