Fugees rapper ‘Pras’ Michel is found guilty in multimillion-dollar extortion trial for taking $100m from Wolf of Wall Street producer to influence Barack Obama to extradite Chinese ally of Steve Bannon
- Rapper Pras Michel, who since the Fugees split has styled himself as a connector of influential individuals and a political activist, has been found guilty of fraud
- Michel, 50, became embroiled in the complicated web spun by Jho Low, the Malaysian businessman charged with massive fraud, who remains on the run
- The New Jersey-born rapper faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing: a date has not yet been set
A founding member of the hugely influential 90s hip-hop group The Fugees was found guilty of a multimillion-dollar political conspiracy spanning two presidencies after a trial that included testimonies from Leonardo DiCaprio to former US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Prakazrel ‘Pras’ Michel became embroiled in a complex web spun by Malaysian financier Jho Low. Low remains on the run, and is believed to be living in China.
The New Jersey-born rapper, who styled himself as a political activist and connector of influential individuals after the Fugees disbanded, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, witness tampering and failure to register as an agent of China.
On Wednesday, a jury in Washington DC federal court found him guilty of all 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
He faces up to 20 years in prison. No sentencing date has been set.
Pras Michel is seen outside court on Wednesday in Washington DC, after a jury found him guilty of charges including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government
The 50-year-old rapper, seen on Wednesday, will be sentenced at a later date
The defense argued the Grammy-winning rapper simply wanted to make money and got bad legal advice as he reinvented himself in the world of politics.
Michel declined to comment after the verdict, but his attorney said he’s ‘extremely disappointed’ in the outcome of the case and plans to appeal.
‘We are extremely disappointed in that result but are very, very confident in the ultimate outcome of this case,’ his attorney, David Kenner, told reporters outside court, with Michel standing by his side.
‘If we do move to a sentencing hearing I remain very confident we will certainly appeal this case. This is not over.’
Michel is accused of taking millions of dollars from Low to help him make political connections and influence people. Michel says he was seeking money for his own projects, and thought he was helping the United States.
One of Michel’s ‘missions’, on Low’s orders, was to convince the U.S. government to hand over a New York-based Chinese billionaire, Miles Guo, to the Chinese authorities. Guo is an ally of Steve Bannon and has now been arrested by U.S. authorities.
Low wanted Guo handed over to Beijing as a favor with Chinese leaders, as a form of insurance as U.S. prosecutors began investigating Low’s own dealings.
Sessions on April 18 told jurors about a pair of high-level meetings where officials discussed the potential deportation of Guo, who eventually became a close associate of Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
‘I remember there was a meeting at the State Department. I believe Homeland Security and the Department of Justice were there – in their conference room,’ the former attorney general said.
Sessions was not, however, in a position to testify about Michel’s role.
‘I don’t recall ever having met him,’ Sessions said after Michel stood and removed his face mask.
Yet Michel had become entangled in the mess.
The 50-year-old is accused of accepting $100million from Low, and using his funds in an attempt to influence the administrations of both President Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Low is accused of orchestrating one of the largest financial scams in history.
Michel first met the Malaysian financier in 2006, when Low was dropping huge sums of money and hobnobbing with the likes of Paris Hilton. Low helped finance Hollywood films, including ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’
Its star, Leonardo DiCaprio, testified on April 3 that Low had appeared to him as a legitimate businessman and had mentioned wanting to donate to Obama’s campaign.
Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio testified for the prosecution in federal court on April 3
Pras Michel is seen earlier this month near the Washington DC courthouse where his trial is being held
Michel, 50, was dapper in his sharply-tailored suit, red tie and pink socks
The rapper’s trial concluded on Wednesday with a guilty verdict
DiCaprio, 48, said that he met and became friends with Low at a birthday party in Las Vegas in 2010.
‘I understood him to be a huge businessman with many different connection in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia,’ said the actor.
The Oscar winner answered questions calmly on the stand and said that in addition to his relationship with Low, he had known Michel since sometime in the 90s, when they had met backstage after a Fugees concert.
While he was still riding high, Low was known to throw lavish parties around the world, often featuring celebrity guests. He flew groups on his private jet to events like the World Cup.
Michel, testified DiCaprio, was present on some of those trips – one of which included jetting to Australia for New Year’s Eve and then jetting to Las Vegas to ring in the New Year a second time.
Low built a relationship with DiCaprio via charitable donations to his foundation and eventually offered to provide the primary financing for ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’
DiCaprio testified that Low’s funding was vetted and he was ‘given the green light by my team as well as my studio.’
He added: ‘He was a legitimate business person wanting to invest in the movie.’
On the stand, DiCaprio told the court how Low built a relationship with him through charitable donations to his foundation and eventually offered to provide the primary financing for ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Jho Low alongside Leonardo DiCaprio at the premiere of The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013
Michel, according to prosecutors, became a vessel for Low’s stolen millions and his attempts to influence the government of the United States
DiCaprio also recalled a conversation during which Low said he intended to make a large contribution to Obama’s reelection effort.
‘It was a significant sum – something to the tune of $20-$30 million,’ he said.
‘I said, wow that’s a lot of money!’
The Wolf of Wall Street had a reported budget of $100million and grossed a total of more than $400million worldwide when it was released in 2013.
It was nominated for five Academy Awards and gives special thanks to Jho Low in the credits.
The film’s production company, Red Granite, agreed to pay the US government $60million but admit no wrongdoing as part of a larger effort by the feds to seize close to $1.7billion in assets allegedly purchased with stolen 1MDB funds.
Michel also testified in his own defense.
He said Low wanted a picture with Obama in 2012 and was willing to pay millions of dollars to get it. Michel agreed to help and used some of the money he got to pay for friends to attend fundraising events. No one had ever told him that was illegal, he said.
Prosecutors said Michel was donating the money on Low’s behalf, and later tried to lean on the straw donors with texts from burner phones to keep them from talking to investigators.
After the election of Donald Trump, prosecutors say Michel again took millions to halt an investigation into allegations Low masterminded a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions from the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB.
Low is accused of turning the slush-fund budget of the Malaysian government into his personal cash piggybank, selling phony bonds through Goldman Sachs, and using the money to fund a celebrity-filled lifestyle.
Low, 41, is believed to be hiding in China so Michel stood trial alone for his involvement in the scam.
Pras Michel faces decades in prison at sentencing
Jho Low is accused of carrying out one of the largest financial scams in history
Michel told Rolling Stone he first met Low at a nightclub in New York City in 2006.
Prosecutors allege Michel became involved in a two-part scheme orchestrated by Low, for which he was charged in 2019, court documents show.
The first involved a fundraising event for Obama during his 2012 presidential campaign.
Michel allegedly reimbursed guests to attend the $40,000-per-head fundraising dinner in an effort to curry favor with the president’s administration, and then threatened them to ensure they did not reveal where their funds came from, according to NPR.
Michel allegedly funneled a total of $1 million of Low’s funds into Obama’s campaign, and did it through 20 donors to avoid detection. Those funds allegedly came directly from the cash Low stole from the Malaysian government.
The second plot involved Michel helping Low lobby officials in the Trump administration in an effort to end an investigation into Low’s business dealings.
‘The defendant, Prakazrel [Pras] Michel, received over $100 million from Jho Low, a foreign fugitive responsible for one of the largest embezzlement schemes in history,’ prosecutors wrote in court filings.
‘To use backchannel influence to convince the then-President of the United States to drop a federal investigation into Low and to agree to the extrajudicial removal of a Chinese exile living in the United States.’
Michel is accused of trying to lobby influence with Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon, along with the administration of Barack Obama
Pras Michel gained fame in the 1990s with his hip hop group The Fugees
Low and Michel met at a nightclub in NYC in 2006. Low is thought to be hiding in China
Michel is also believed to have met with a Chinese government official at a Four Seasons Hotel in New York City to organize their efforts in 2017.
Chinese officials wanted Chinese financial fraudster Guo – then residing in the United States – extradited back to Beijing.
Guo was known to have formed a close relationship with Trump White House advisor, Steve Bannon.
In March, Guo was arrested by the FBI for allegedly scamming people out of about $1billion in an online scheme. His New York City penthouse apartment mysteriously caught fire hours after his arrest while agents were searching it.
Several people involved in Michel’s alleged schemes have already plead guilty or obtained immunity from the government as a part of the investigation, according to NPR.
Michel allegedly pocketed between $8million and $40million for his role in assisting Low in the scheme.
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