Fugees rapper Pras Michel sentenced to 14 years in prison over illegal
donations to Obama campaign
[November 21, 2025]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the
Fugees was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years in prison for a case in
which he was convicted of illegally funneling millions of dollars in
foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection
campaign.
Michel, 52, declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge
Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him.
In April 2023, a federal jury convicted Michel of 10 counts, including
conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
The trial in Washington, D.C., included testimony from actor Leonardo
DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Justice Department prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines
recommended a life sentence for Michel, whom they said “betrayed his
country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry
out his schemes.”
“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,” they wrote.
Defense attorney Peter Zeidenberg said his client's 14-year sentence is
“completely disproportionate to the offense.” Michel will appeal his
conviction and sentence, according to his lawyer.
Zeidenberg had recommended a three-year prison sentence. A life sentence
would be an “absurdly high” punishment for Michel given that it is
typically reserved for deadly terrorists and drug cartel leaders,
Michel's attorneys said in a court filing.
“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,” they wrote.
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Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, a member of the 1990s hip-hop group the
Fugees, accompanied by defense lawyer David Kenner, right, arrives
at federal court April 3, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew
Harnik, File)
Michel, a Brooklyn native whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from
Haiti, was a founding member of the Fugees along with childhood friends
Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. Their hip-hop band won two Grammy Awards
and sold tens of millions of albums.
Michel obtained over $120 million from Malaysian billionaire Low Taek
Jho — also known as Jho Low — and steered some of that money through
straw donors to Obama’s campaign.
Michel also tried to end a Justice Department investigation of Low,
tampered with two witnesses and perjured himself at trial, prosecutors
said.
Low, who has lived in China, was one of the primary financiers of “The
Wolf of Wall Street,” a movie starring DiCaprio. Low is a fugitive but
has maintained his innocence.
“Low’s motivation for giving Mr. Michel money to donate was not so that
he could achieve some policy objective. Instead, Low simply wanted to
obtain a photograph with himself and then-President Obama,” Michel’s
attorneys wrote.
In August 2024, the judge rejected Michel’s request for a new trial
based in part on his defense attorney’s use of a generative AI program
during his closing of the trial’s arguments. The judges said that and
other trial errors didn’t amount to a serious miscarriage of justice.
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