WASHINGTON — A jury on Wednesday convicted Grammy Award-winning rapper Pras Michel on all 10 criminal counts of conspiring with a Malaysian financier in a foreign-influence scheme that covered two presidencies.
Michel, 50, a former member of the Fugees, a hip-top trio, was convicted in a Washington federal court after a three-week trial. The charges included campaign finance violations, money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering and lying to banks, according to The Washington Post.
He was accused of a failed conspiracy to help businessman Jho Low and the Chinese government gain access to U.S. officials, including former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Fugees rapper Pras Michél found guilty in star-studded corruption trial that arose from a global financial scandal https://t.co/MWuheSxRzr
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 26, 2023
The alleged scheme involved payments to Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, and efforts to convince the Trump administration to extradite a Chinese national, according to CBS News.
Michel testified last week that Low paid him $20 million in 2012 to get a photograph of himself with Obama, CNN reported. Prosecutors said that Michel put more than $800,000 of that cash into Obama’s campaign through several straw donors, according to the cable news outlet.
“It is not complicated,” prosecutor Sean F. Mulryne told the jury in his closing argument. “At its core, it is simple and straightforward: Mr. Michel broke the law.”
The money, Michel said, was his and not Low’s, and his intent was not to break the law, CBS News reported. The rapper was merely attempting to secure the photo for Low, he testified.
“I could have bought 12 elephants with it,” Michel said.
“This is all about a highly valuable photo,” Michel’s defense attorney, David Kenner, during closing arguments last week, “He was trying to make money. … it is not illegal.”
Low remains at large, but was charged as a codefendant in Michel’s case, CBS News reported. The Justice Department accused Low of misappropriating more than $500 million from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a sovereign wealth fund, to shell companies owned by himself and others.
Prosecutors accused Low of funneling more than $100 million to Michel to help push the U.S. government -- including Trump -- to drop its investigation of the financier, according to CNN. They also said that Michel was pushing for the extradition of a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, on behalf of the Chinese government.
The trial included some high-profile names, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who testified, the Post reported. Former attorney Jeff Sessions also took the stand.
Testimony included references to entertainment figures like Martin Scorcese and maven Kim Kardashian, according to the newspaper.
Michel helped found the Fugees in 1990 with Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. The alternative rap group blended reggae, R&B, funk and hip-hop.
©2023 Cox Media Group
