Fugees rapper Pras Michel gets 14 years in prison for illegally aiding 1MDB’s Jho Low

WASHINGTON – Pras Michel, a Grammy-winning rapper-turned-political influencer, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for conspiring to wage a back-channel lobbying campaign to end United States probes of fugitive Malaysian tycoon Jho Low and other crimes. 

US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Michel, 52, on Nov 20 in Washington federal court, where

jurors convicted him in April 2023.

The judge previously ordered him to forfeit US$64.9 million (S$84.8 million). 

Michel’s crimes included conspiring to illegally funnel Low’s money into the campaign of then US President Barack Obama in 2012 and trying to get American authorities to extradite a dissident Chinese billionaire. 

Low, who is

said to be in hiding in China,

is wanted in connection with the multi-billion-dollar collapse a decade ago of

Malaysia’s state development fund 1MDB,

which led to a guilty plea and billions in fines for Goldman Sachs Group, as well as fraud convictions of some former bankers. Low has publicly said he is innocent.

The Michel case was first filed in 2019. He had risen to fame in the 1990s with the Fugees, one of the best-selling hip-hop groups.

His attorney, Mr Peter Zeidenberg, said he will appeal the conviction and sentence.

“We believe the verdict was unsupported by the evidence and that the sentence is completely disproportional to the facts alleged, particularly when compared with his co-defendants, all of whom were intimately involved in the same alleged scheme,” Mr Zeidenberg said in a statement. 

Michel testified in his own defence at the trial, denying wrongdoing before he was convicted of all 10 counts he faced.

He did not address the judge at his sentencing, Mr Zeidenberg said. 

“There simply is no justification for Mr Michel being singled out like this except for the penalty for opting for trial,” the lawyer said. 

Prosecutors said Low paid more than US$100 million to Michel in two plots. His conspirators lobbied US President Donald Trump’s administration in 2017 to end US probes of Low’s alleged embezzlement of billions of dollars from 1MDB.

They also pushed to have Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese tycoon later convicted in a US$1 billion investor fraud, sent back to China from the US. Both efforts failed.

Prosecutors said Michel began doing Low’s bidding in 2012, when Low wanted a photo with Mr Obama during his re-election campaign. Low allegedly sent US$21 million to Michel through shell companies.

Michel funnelled US$2 million through straw donors into Mr Obama’s campaign and a super political action committee, Black Men Vote. Michel kept the rest, the US said.

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified at the trial that he partied with Low. DiCaprio said Low told him he wanted to give US$20 million to US$30 million to the Democratic Party in 2012. Low also put US$100 million into the movie The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013), which starred DiCaprio.

Michel’s co-conspirators included former Trump fund-raiser Elliott Broidy; former Justice Department attorney George Higginbotham, who moonlighted as Michel’s lawyer; and Nickie Lum Davis, a Hawaiian businessman. All three pleaded guilty, but Mr Trump pardoned Broidy. Higginbotham and Broidy testified as government witnesses.

Michel was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act over his efforts to help Low; conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent of China and to commit money laundering; acting as an unregistered agent of Low; and as an agent of China in pushing for Guo’s removal.

Jurors also convicted Michel of conspiring to make false statements to banks, including City National Bank, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, about the source and purpose of funds he got from Low.

He was also convicted of witness tampering. BLOOMBERG