Former Fugees star Prakazrel “Pras” Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison over a plot that illegally funneled millions in foreign cash into Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection effort.
The sentence closes one of the most stunning political finance scandals in modern memory.
Michel, 52, stood silent as U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly handed down the sentence in a Washington, D.C., courtroom.
Convicted on 10 Counts
A federal jury found Michel guilty last year on 10 federal charges, including:
- Conspiracy
- Campaign finance violations
- Acting as an unregistered foreign agent
The sweeping case exposed how Michel helped Malaysian financier Jho Low covertly pour foreign money into Obama’s reelection campaign, something prosecutors said posed a grave national-security threat.
The trial drew major attention, featuring testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
DiCaprio described conversations with Low about funneling huge sums into U.S. politics.
DOJ: Michel “Betrayed His Country for Money”
Prosecutors didn’t hold back.
They argued that federal sentencing guidelines technically recommended a life sentence, accusing Michel of:
• “Betraying his country for money”
• Lying “unapologetically and unrelentingly”
• Running influence-for-cash schemes with no concern for national security
“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,” DOJ attorneys wrote.
Defense Calls the Sentence “Disproportionate,” Vows Appeal
Michel’s defense team blasted the 14-year term as “completely disproportionate.”
The music star’s lawyers are arguing that even the DOJ openly floated a punishment typically associated with terrorists or cartel bosses.
His lawyer, Peter Zeidenberg, said Michel would appeal.
In a filing, his attorneys mocked the government’s push for decades behind bars:
“A life sentence would be an absurdly high punishment…
“The Government’s position is one that would cause Inspector Javert to recoil.”
They claimed the sentencing guidelines were being twisted to produce “absurd results.”
A Stark Contrast to Years of Democrat Narratives on ‘Foreign Interference’
While Democrats spent years insisting that foreign influence allegedly tied to Donald Trump posed the greatest threat to U.S. democracy, this case, involving actual foreign money secretly backing Barack Obama’s reelection, received far less outrage from the political Left.
The DOJ’s own filings show:
• Millions in illegal foreign donations
• Covert political operations run on behalf of foreign nationals
• And a Hollywood-connected fixer acting as a foreign agent on U.S. soil
Michel now becomes one of the highest-profile political operatives convicted for foreign influence in modern American history.
What Happens Next
Michel is headed to federal prison unless his appeal succeeds.
Jho Low, the financier at the center of the scheme, remains an international fugitive.
The case continues to raise uncomfortable questions for Democrats about foreign cash in their political ecosystem, and why this Obama-era scandal never received the level of media scrutiny devoted to far less substantiated claims against Republican officials.
More developments are expected as appeals and possible related investigations unfold.
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