In a significant courtroom decision, Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, the Grammy-winning rapper from the renowned group the Fugees, was handed a 14-year prison sentence on Thursday. The case centered around Michel’s illegal actions in channeling millions of dollars in foreign contributions to support former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.

Michel, now 52, chose to remain silent, opting not to speak before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly delivered the sentence. This decision came after a federal jury in April 2023 found him guilty on 10 counts, which included charges of conspiracy and operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The trial, held in Washington, D.C., captured widespread attention, featuring testimonies from high-profile figures like actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Prosecutors from the Justice Department argued that Michel’s actions warranted severe punishment. They pointed out that federal sentencing guidelines suggested a life sentence, underscoring that Michel “betrayed his country for money” and continuously lied without remorse to facilitate his schemes.

Justice Department prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines recommended a life sentence for Michel, whom they said “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”

“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,” they wrote.

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.