Fugees member Pras Michél has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was convicted on charges of conspiracy and illegal foreign lobbying.
A judge sentenced Michél on Thursday after he was convicted in April 2023 on 10 counts including violating campaign finance laws during Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection bid and illegally lobbying the Donald Trump administration in 2017. According to Billboard, Michél was handed a 14-year sentence, which will be followed by three years of probation. He was facing 22 years behind bars.
Just last month, Michél was ordered to forfeit more than $64 million after he was found guilty of orchestrating a foreign influence campaign to coax the United States into dropping an investigation into Malaysian financier Jho Low. Michél’s attorneys were seeking a light sentence of 36 months, while the prosecution were asking for a more “severe” punishment.
Michél was initially charged in 2019 and went to trial four years later. The trial lasted for three weeks and included testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio on behalf of the prosecution.
Michél attempted to get a retrial after claiming that his former lawyer David Kenner, best known for representing Suge Knight in his 2015 murder case, used artificial intelligence to come up with closing arguments. In early 2024, Kenner pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal contempt and was sentenced to one year of probation over his handling of discovery materials in Michel’s case.
In an interview with Variety following his conviction, he outlined his plans to appeal the outcome of his case. “I’m going to fight, and I’m going to appeal, but there’s a possibility that I’m going in while I’m fighting,” he said. “It’s just the reality.”
Michél is expected to surrender to authorities on January 27.
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From Variety US