Grammy-Winning Rapper Gets 14 Years for Betraying His Country

Grammy-winning rapper Prakazel Michel was sentenced for election fraud yesterday. A rapper who was a founding member of the Fugees got sentenced to 14-years, partly for funneling millions in foreign money into Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign. He was convicted in 2023 and yesterday received his sentence.

He did a lot more than funnel money to Obama for political influence.

A founding member of the hip-hop group the Fugees was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years in prison for his role in a foreign influence scheme that illegally funneled millions of dollars to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

The rapper Prakazrel Michel, known as Pras, orchestrated a sprawling international conspiracy in which he accepted $120 million from Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian financier who wanted to gain political influence in the United States, the Justice Department said. Mr. Michel distributed some of that money to a network of about 20 straw donors, who then donated it to the Obama campaign.

The prosecutors wanted a life sentence and his defense attorneys asked for three years.

His appeals were denied.

The sentencing argument:

Prakazrel Michel betrayed his country for money. He funneled millions of dollars in prohibited foreign contributions into a United States presidential election and attempted to manipulate a sitting president to serve a foreign criminal and a foreign power. Over nearly a decade, Michel’s conspiracies sought to exploit and deceive the White House, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, political committees, the Federal Election Commission, straw donors, FBI agents, multiple financial institutions, and his own co-conspirators. Michel lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.

Michel’s illicit foreign malign influence effort is extraordinary—he and his co-conspirators targeted the highest levels of American government through illegal contributions and backchannel influence. They tried to end the DOJ investigation into 1MDB, the largest foreign embezzlement scheme in history, and endeavored to send a PRC national back to China without due process. For his willingness to elevate foreign interests over those of the United States, Michel obtained more than $120 million from the architect of 1MDB, Low Taek Jho. After Michel was caught, he tampered with witnesses and then perjured himself at trial. 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.

…

In United States v. Manafort, No. 1:17-cr-201 (D.D.C.), the defendant pleaded guilty to (1)
conspiracy to violate FARA, commit tax fraud, file false foreign bank account reports (“FBARs”), and launder money, and (2) conspiracy to obstruct justice by tampering with witnesses. Manafort worked as an unregistered agent of the Government of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Party of Regions, and former President Yanukovych. The Court sentenced Manafort to 73 months’ imprisonment, including the statutory maximum 60 months imprisonment for the conspiracy to violate FARA.

Manafort’s parallel sentence for tax and fraud offenses resulted in a total term of incarceration of 90 months’ imprisonment. These similarly situated defendants make clear that an extended term of imprisonment is appropriate for Michel.

Michel’s characteristics also demand a serious sentence. He has not demonstrated
contrition, respect for the law, or acceptance of responsibility. He threatened witnesses and
provided false testimony to avoid the consequences of his crime. He lied repeatedly and
extensively during his offenses and continued to lie after he was caught. When confronted, he blamed those around him to distort the facts and minimize his own responsibility. The defendant’s attempts at distortion did not deceive the jury, and he was convicted on all counts. …