Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy and illegal foreign lobbying, Billboard reports. Washington, D.C. federal judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly handed down the sentence on Thursday, November 20. Pras will serve 14 years out of a maximum 22, followed by three years of probation. Last month, he was also ordered to forfeit nearly $65 million to the U.S. government.
Pras was first charged with campaign finance crimes in 2019, though the case did not go to trial until 2023. He was accused of illegally funneling money from Malaysian fugitive Low Taek Jho (aka Jho Low) into former President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, and later attempting to influence President Donald J. Trump and his administration to end a Department of Justice investigation into Jho Low. During the trial, Leonardo DiCaprio was called as a witness due to Jho Low’s role in funding The Wolf of Wall Street.
Pras was eventually found guilty of all 10 charges brought against him, which included conspiracy to defraud the United States government and making foreign and conduit campaign contributions, one count of concealing material facts, and two counts of making a false entry in a record in connection with the conspiracy. He subsequently filed a motion for retrial, claiming that his attorney, David Kenner, had used AI to write his closing argument.
Last year, Pras sued Ms. Lauryn Hill, blaming her for the cancellation of a planned Fugees tour. His new attorneys reportedly plan to appeal both his sentence and convictions in the criminal conspiracy case.