Hip-Hop Legend's 14-Year Prison Term Highlights U.S. Efforts to Combat Overseas Election Meddling
- Fugees rapper Pras Michel was sentenced to 14 years for conspiring to channel $120M from Malaysian financier Jho Low into Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. - The case ties to the 1MDB scandal involving Goldman Sachs , with Low seeking political access through campaign funds and witness tampering charges against Michel. - Michel's defense called the punishment disproportionate, citing AI use in closing arguments and contrasting penalties with other scheme participants. - The conviction highlights U.S. en
Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, a member of the Fugees, has been given a 14-year prison term for his role in a scheme to illegally direct millions from Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho—also known as Jho Low—into Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, prosecutors revealed on Thursday. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., concludes a widely watched trial linked to the international 1MDB corruption scandal, a massive financial fraud that also drew in Goldman Sachs and other major players
The charges state that Michel received more than $120 million from Low, who has been living in China since 2016 to avoid authorities, and funneled the money through shell companies to support Obama’s campaign.
Michel’s lawyers argued that the punishment was “grossly disproportionate to the crime” and pointed out that his attorney used generative AI in the closing statements—a factor the judge said was not enough to justify a new trial
The 1MDB affair, which resulted in Goldman Sachs paying $1 billion in settlements, has attracted global attention due to its links to political lobbying and financial wrongdoing
Michel’s sentence also includes three years of supervised release and an order to forfeit $64.9 million
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