Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in jail after being discovered responsible of legal conspiracy and unlawful overseas lobbying, Billboard stories. Washington, D.C. federal choose Colleen Kollar-Kotelly handed down the sentence on Thursday, November 20. Pras will serve 14 years out of a most 22, adopted by three years of probation. Final month, he was additionally ordered to forfeit practically $65 million to the U.S. authorities.
Pras was first charged with marketing campaign finance crimes in 2019, although the case didn’t go to trial till 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 marketing campaign, and later trying to affect President Donald J. Trump and his administration to finish a Division of Justice investigation into Jho Low. Through the trial, Leonardo DiCaprio was referred to as as a witness as a result of Jho Low’s position in funding The Wolf of Wall Road.
Pras was finally found guilty of all 10 expenses introduced in opposition to him, which included conspiracy to defraud the USA authorities and making overseas and conduit marketing campaign contributions, one depend of concealing materials details, and two counts of creating a false entry in a document in reference to the conspiracy. He subsequently filed a motion for retrial, claiming that his legal professional, David Kenner, had used AI to write down his closing argument.
Final 12 months, Pras sued Ms. Lauryn Hill, blaming her for the cancellation of a deliberate Fugees tour. His new attorneys reportedly plan to enchantment each his sentence and convictions within the legal conspiracy case.
