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WASHINGTON (AP) — Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, the Grammy-winning artist from the Fugees, received a 14-year prison sentence on Thursday. He was found guilty of channeling millions of dollars from foreign sources into former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, violating campaign finance laws.
Michel, now 53, chose not to offer any remarks to the court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly announced his sentence.
Back in April 2023, Michel faced a federal jury in Washington, D.C. and was convicted on 10 charges, including conspiracy and failing to register as an agent for a foreign government. The trial featured testimonies from notable figures such as actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Prosecutors from the Justice Department argued that Michel deserved a life sentence according to federal guidelines. They accused him of “betraying his country for money” and perpetuating falsehoods to execute his plans without remorse.
“The sentence should mirror the extent and severity of his crimes, his disregard for national security, and the enormity of his avarice,” they asserted in their recommendation.
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.
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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This story was first published Nov. 20, 2025. It was updated Nov. 21, 2025, to correct that Michel is 53 years old, not 52.