Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Illegal Campaign Donations to Obama

WASHINGTON, DC. (THECOUNT) — Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the Fugees was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years in prison for a case in which he was convicted of illegally funneling millions of dollars in foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.

Michel, 52, declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him to 14 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised probation. He was ordered to surrender to authorities on January 27, 2026, and must forfeit $64 million linked to the scheme.

In April 2023, a federal jury convicted Michel of 10 counts, including conspiracy, criminal violations of campaign finance laws, money laundering, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, and witness tampering. The high-profile trial in Washington, D.C., featured testimony from high-profile witnesses such as actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Justice Department prosecutors argued that federal sentencing guidelines recommended a life sentence for Michel, whom they described as having “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”

“His sentence should reflect the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed,” they wrote in court filings.

Defense attorney Peter Zeidenberg called the 14-year sentence “completely disproportionate to the offense.” Michel plans to appeal both his conviction and sentence, according to his lawyer. Zeidenberg had recommended a three-year prison term.

A life sentence would be an “absurdly high” punishment for Michel, given that it is typically reserved for deadly terrorists and drug cartel leaders, Michel’s attorneys argued in a court filing.

“The Government’s position is one that would cause Inspector Javert to recoil and, if anything, simply illustrates just how easily the Guidelines can be manipulated to produce absurd results, and how poorly equipped they are, at least on this occasion, to determine a fair and just sentence,” they wrote.

During sentencing, Judge Kollar-Kotelly remarked that Michel is “well educated but very arrogant” and expressed that he showed “no remorse.”

Michel, a Brooklyn native whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti, rose to fame as a founding member of the Fugees alongside childhood friends Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. The hip-hop group won two Grammy Awards for their 1996 album The Score, which sold over 17 million copies worldwide and included hits like “Killing Me Softly” and “Ready or Not.”

The convictions stem from Michel’s dealings with Malaysian billionaire Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who embezzled over $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Michel obtained more than $120 million from Low and funneled approximately $865,000 through straw donors to Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, concealing the foreign origins of the funds.

Prosecutors detailed how Michel also attempted to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign entities. He lobbied to end a Justice Department investigation into Low, shared sensitive non-public information with a Chinese national to assist in a scheme to extradite a fugitive dissident, tampered with two witnesses, and perjured himself during the trial.

Low, a fugitive living in China, was one of the primary financiers of the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, starring DiCaprio. DiCaprio testified about receiving gifts from Low, including a Picasso painting and a yacht named after the actress Megan Fox, which Michel helped arrange. Low has maintained his innocence throughout the 1MDB scandal.

“Low’s motivation for giving Mr. Michel money to donate was not so that he could achieve some policy objective. Instead, Low simply wanted to obtain a photograph with himself and then-President Obama,” Michel’s attorneys wrote in defense filings.

In August 2024, Judge Kollar-Kotelly rejected Michel’s request for a new trial. The motion was based in part on his former defense attorney David Kenner’s use of a generative AI program to prepare closing arguments. The judge ruled that this and other alleged trial errors did not constitute a serious miscarriage of justice. Kenner, known for representing Suge Knight in his 2015 murder case, later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal contempt related to handling discovery materials and received one year of probation.

Michel’s legal saga has overshadowed his music career. He briefly reunited with the Fugees for a 2023 tour, which was cut short amid his legal troubles, and distanced himself from further reunions with Hill and Jean in 2024.

His spokesperson, Erica Dumas, issued a statement following the sentencing: “Throughout his career Pras has broken barriers and defied expectations. This is not the end of his story.”

The case highlights broader concerns about foreign influence in U.S. elections and the intersection of celebrity, finance, and politics. Michel’s actions, prosecutors emphasized, compromised national security for personal gain, marking a stark fall from the heights of 1990s hip-hop stardom.

As Michel prepares to appeal, the Fugees’ legacy endures through their groundbreaking music, but this chapter serves as a cautionary tale of the consequences of crossing legal lines in pursuit of wealth and influence.

Last updated: November 20, 2025

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