Pras Ordered to Pay U.S. Government $64 Million for Foreign Conspiracy
In a political conspiracy case dating back to the 2012 election, Pras has received a $64 million judgment with prison time expected to follow a future sentencing.
Pras Michel arrives at U.S. District Court on March 31, 2023 in Washington, DC. Michel is on trial for his alleged participation in a campaign finance conspiracy.
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.
Years after first being accused of foreign conspiracy, Pras’ legal saga continues.
According to a Sunday report from COMPLEX, a judge has officially ordered the Fugees rapper to pay up $64 million after being found guilty of political conspiracy in 2023. He will be sentenced to additional punishment at a court date expected in December.
Pras was originally indicted in 2019 for allegedly funneling money through a Malaysian financier and straw donors in Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign. He was convicted of 10 counts in the case, including conspiracy, acting as an unregistered agent for China, and witness tampering.
Testifying on his own behalf, Pras explained that the financier, a man named Jho Low, contacted him about wanting to get a picture taken with Obama, offering millions of dollars to make it happen. According to Pras, he himself used the money to get friends to attend Obama fundraisers. He claimed that he had no idea he had done something illegal. Regardless, he was found guilty of the charges two years ago. And now he’ll have to pay — with both a large sum of money and, likely, prison time.
This news arrives just over a year after Pras’ former bandmate, Lauryn Hill, responded to his lawsuit against her, suing her for fraud and breach of contract. In the suit, Pras alleged that Hill had “mismanaged” the setup for the Fugees reunion tour, which ended up being significantly shortened. He suggested that she orchestrated the tour to work strictly in her favor. But Hill was quick to dismiss the claims, calling them “baseless” and saying the suit was “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks.”
“It was being planned whether the Fugees were involved or not,” Hill explained of her own tour. “The tour was expanded to incorporate the Fugees because I found out that Pras was in trouble and would need money to aid his legal defense.”
