A well-known American rapper and businessman has been found guilty of orchestrating unregistered lobbying activities. These activities included attempting to persuade the return of Chinese dissidents to China under instruction from a Deputy Minister of the Public Security Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as trying to lobby for the withdrawal of investigations into the “1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal”. The rapper was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday (November 20).
According to Bloomberg’s report on Friday (November 21), the defendant in this case is Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, a founding member of the Grammy-winning hip-hop group “Fugees”. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly announced the verdict at the Federal Court in Washington D.C.
The 52-year-old Michel, known as both a prominent entertainer and businessman, was convicted by a federal jury in April 2023 on 10 charges, including acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, illegal lobbying, money laundering, campaign finance violations, conspiracy, and witness tampering. The judge also ordered the forfeiture of his $64.9 million assets.
In August 2024, the judge rejected Michel’s request for a new trial.
As reported by the Voice of America in April 2023, court documents and evidence presented at the trial showed that Michel conspired with others, including Malaysian tycoon Jho Low and under the instructions of a Deputy Minister of the Chinese Communist Party, to influence then-U.S. President Trump and the Justice Department to drop investigations and confiscation proceedings related to “1MDB” and to repatriate a Chinese dissident.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified that he was aware of the Chinese government’s extradition request for this dissident and that Michel arranged a meeting on this topic, but Michel’s lobbying efforts had no outcome.
Although the Justice Department did not disclose the name of the Deputy Minister of the Chinese Public Security Bureau or the dissident’s identity, reports indicated that the Deputy Minister was Sun Lijun and the dissident was the wealthy businessman Guo Wengui, who is currently detained in the U.S. and wanted by China.
Sun Lijun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in China in September 2022 for corruption and illegal possession of firearms, which was later commuted to life imprisonment after the expiration of the reprieve.
Guo Wengui was arrested in New York in March 2023 and is accused by the U.S. Justice Department of running an investment fraud scheme and defrauding at least $1 billion. He remains in custody.
Michel’s case also involved a multi-billion dollar financial scandal in Malaysia.
Prosecutors alleged that from 2012 to 2017, Michel received over $100 million from the fugitive Malaysian tycoon Jho Low to exert “secret, illicit foreign influence” in American politics. This period spanned the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Jho Low is a central figure in the infamous 1MDB scandal. In the early 2010s, he siphoned around $4 billion from the fund and invested in luxury real estate in the U.S., fine art, and Hollywood movies, including “The Wolf of Wall Street” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Jho Low remains an internationally wanted fugitive and is believed to be hiding in Shanghai, China.
Michel was also accused of aiding Jho Low in funneling money through shell companies to secretly contribute to Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and concealing the true source of donations.
Furthermore, he attempted to lobby officials in the first Trump administration to drop the investigation against Jho Low.
The trial of this case garnered widespread attention, with Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifying in court. Michel himself testified in his defense during the trial but declined to speak at the sentencing hearing on Thursday.
Prosecutors in court documents strongly condemned Michel, stating that he “betrayed his country for money” and for nearly a decade “tried to manipulate and deceive multiple arms of the U.S. government, including the White House and the FBI”.
Prosecutors argued that Michel “has shown no remorse and continuously lied to carry out his schemes”. They recommended a life sentence in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.
Michel’s defense lawyer, Peter Zeidenberg, vehemently opposed the sentence of 14 years, calling it “grossly disproportionate” to his crimes. He had previously recommended a three-year prison term. The lawyer stated that they will appeal the conviction and sentence.
Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Michel co-founded the group “Fugees” with childhood friends Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. The group had immense success during the 1990s, winning two Grammy Awards and selling millions of records.