A famed musician ran a financial scheme tied to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, now he want’s President Donald Trump’s help.
Grammy-winning Fugees rapper Pras Michel, 53, received a 14-year federal prison sentence after a jury found he had taken part in a complex scheme that funneled foreign funds into American politics and later attempted to influence decisions inside the United States government.
The case revolved around his relationship with Malaysian financier Jho Low, a fugitive figure accused of orchestrating financial crimes involving billions of dollars.
According to prosecutors, Michel’s legal challenges began publicly in 2019 when a four-count indictment alleged he accepted millions from Low during the 2012 election cycle.
Fugees member Pras Michél has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was convicted on charges of conspiracy and illegal foreign lobbying. https://t.co/9vnkYersU5 pic.twitter.com/SlqA1yJf7P
— Lipstick Alley (@lipstickalley) November 21, 2025
Investigators said Low transferred roughly $21.6 million into accounts tied to Michel and instructed him to quietly move the money into presidential campaigns.
Authorities said Michel channeled about $865,000 through a group of straw donors in support of Barack Obama’s reelection effort.
That transaction resulted in what prosecutors described as a false report submitted to the Federal Election Commission by a joint fundraising committee.
It's now alleged that Prakazrel 'Praz' Samuel Michel may have funnelled some $100,000,000 into Obama's 2012 campaign through straw donors. pic.twitter.com/ZkuQsKmCMJ
— John Burtis (@burtis_john) April 10, 2023
Before the 2019 indictment was unsealed, investigators said Michel and Low participated in an additional covert effort to influence officials within the Trump administration.
Prosecutors argued that this operation sought to convince then President Trump and the Department of Justice to halt ongoing investigations into Low and associates connected to the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
A superseding indictment filed in 2021 outlined how the funds Low directed to Michel were believed to have been stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.
Federal officials also accused Michel of attempting to use cash from the more than $120 million in misappropriated money to create an unofficial campaign meant to secure the extradition of Chinese dissident Guo Wengui from the United States back to China.
Prosecutors detailed how Michel allegedly tampered with two witnesses in the case and later provided false testimony during trial.
In April 2023, Michel was convicted by a federal jury on 10 counts that included conspiracy and operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Throughout the case, Michel had maintained that he hoped Trump would consider clemency.
In an interview with TMZ, he said, “I hope he turn an eye on me,” adding that he had “love for any president” and believed the process would play out in his favor.
Even though #Pras was found guilty in his federal fraud case … he's holding out hope his boy #DonaldTrump will come through with a pardon!!! #Exclusive story HERE: https://t.co/Edna795KpQ pic.twitter.com/yLIG1Bog0M
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 6, 2025
Michel also made comparisons between his legal battle and Trump’s conviction in a separate case involving hush money, suggesting both situations stemmed from what he viewed as an overly aggressive Justice Department.
Michel and Trump had crossed paths long before the Trump presidency. Trump appeared on Michel’s 1998 debut solo album “Ghetto Supastar,” making a brief voicemail cameo.
In the video he told Michel, “I have no doubt that you’re going to be a big success,” and added, “I hope very soon you’re going to be in the leagues with me.”
The Hollywood Reporter noted that Trump had weighed the possibility of a pardon at one point, although the White House offered no official comment.
Michel’s team said only that they were considering all possible avenues.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Michel to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.
Prosecutors argued that federal guidelines recommended a life sentence, stating that Michel had “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”
They told the court that any punishment should be proportionate to what they described as the scale of Michel’s conduct and the risks it posed to national interests.
“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,” prosecutors said in their filing.
Michel’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, strongly disagreed with the government’s recommendation and said the 14-year sentence handed down was “completely disproportionate to the offense.”
He confirmed that Michel would appeal both the conviction and the sentence.
Zeidenberg compared Michel’s situation to other defendants who received far lighter consequences in related cases.
“Elliott Broidy was pardoned, George Higginbotham got 3 months’ probation, and Nicki Lum Davis received 24 months,” he noted.
He also pointed out that the Justice Department previously announced a focus on prosecuting foreign-agent cases only when espionage was involved, which he said did not apply here.
“There simply is no justification for Mr. Michel being singled out like this except for the penalty for opting for trial. We will appeal.”
He had sought a three-year sentence, claiming that the government’s push for a life term was an “absurdly high” penalty more suited for cartel figures or terrorists.
In a court filing, Michel’s lawyers wrote, “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.”
Erica Dumas, a representative for Michel, told Entertainment Weekly that the rapper must surrender to authorities by January 27, 2026.
Dumas said Judge Kollar-Kotelly described Michel as “well educated but very arrogant” and added, “I feel you have no remorse.”
“Pras has spent his career breaking barriers and defying expectations. While today marks a difficult moment, it is not the end of his story or his legacy,” she added.
“He is profoundly grateful for the continued support of those who believe in him as he prepares for what lies ahead.”
In addition to the prison term, Michel was ordered to forfeit $64 million connected to what prosecutors identified as the broader influence operation linked to Low.
Federal officials said the scheme involved using money and political pressure to persuade United States decision-makers to halt investigations into the financier.
Michel is scheduled to surrender to federal authorities on January 27.