Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, a former member of the rap group known as the Fugees, was sentenced on Thursday for illegally funneling millions in foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign.
A federal judge sentenced him to 14 years in prison, one of his reps confirmed to Rolling Stone magazine.
“After serving the sentence, Michel will serve three years’ probation,” the magazine reported. “Prosecutors had sought a sentence of multiple decades, while his lawyers asked the judge for only three years.”
He’s expected to appeal both his conviction and sentence.
The donation nobody asked questions about.
Here’s Pras Michel a Grammy winner, Fugees legend, shaking Barack Obama’s hand back in 2012.
Today he’s heading to federal prison for 14 years after prosecutors said he funneled $865,000 in foreign money into Obama’s campaign. pic.twitter.com/GayMojXBS0
— Desiree (@DesireeAmerica4) November 21, 2025
His sentencing comes over two years after a jury found him guilty of 10 criminal counts related to conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
The conspiracy involved the infamous looting of $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. While Michel didn’t take part in the theft, he did end up with some of the money courtesy of Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, the reported architect of the theft.
Low Taek Jho is more commonly known as Jho Low. After taking the $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund (known as 1MDB), Low traveled to the United States and began “dropping huge sums of money and hobnobbing with the likes of Paris Hilton,” according to the Associated Press.
Fast-forward to 2012, when Low approached Michel, whom he’d reportedly met in 2006, and offered to pay him $20 million for a picture with then-President Obama.
Low knew “that Michél was a passionate Obama supporter who had met the president,” The Washington Post noted.
Michel agreed to the deal and accepted the $20 million, after which he sought the advice of millionaire businessman Frank R. White Jr., reportedly a top campaign-contribution bundler for Obama’s reelection bid.
“Michél [later testified] he was given to understand that he should buy tickets to fundraising dinners, at $40,000 apiece, as a step toward Low getting his coveted photo,” according to the Post.
And so he did. He spent $865,000 on tickets using other people’s names (“straw” donors), and he donated $1.1 million in his own name to an Obama-affiliated political action committee.
All in all, Michel spent $2 million donating to Obama. He reportedly kept the rest of the money for himself on the basis that he’d completed the job.
Jho Low paid Rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the seven time platinum, GRAMMY award winning Hip Hop group the “Fugees,” $20 million to get photographed with President Barack Obama and Michelle in 2012.
Pras is also accused of involvement with Low in three schemes for which… pic.twitter.com/LS8pQCHSgw
— Sophia Johnson (@Pattyfree) April 27, 2023
There was just one catch — Low’s theft from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
“[P]rosecutors argued that the donations were unlawful ‘conduit contributions’ originating with Low, meaning that Michél illegally funneled about $2 million from a foreign national (embezzled money, in this case) into a U.S. presidential campaign,” according to the Post.
Now fast-forward again to 2017, when Low, who at this point was under investigation by various parties, once again reached out to Michel — this time for help dealing with the myriad of prosecutors gunning for him.
“Businesswoman Nickie Mali Lum Davis, an acquaintance of Michél’s, introduced him to an associate of hers, Elliott Broidy, a top Republican fundraiser with close ties to the Trump administration. A prosecutor described Broidy as ‘the fixer’ whom Low secretly hired to get him out of legal trouble,” the Post notes.
“Broidy testified that, after meeting with Low in Thailand, he tried in vain to sway various administration officials into believing it would harm U.S.-Malaysia relations for the Justice Department to continue its 1MDB-related investigations. In a deal brokered by Michél, Broidy said, Low agreed to pay him $50 million or $75 million, depending on how quickly he was able to quash the probes,” according to the Post.
As this effort evolved, Broidy reportedly met with Low in China alongside Michél, Davis, and a top Chinese domestic security official.
“Broidy said Low seemed to think that Chinese authorities could help him with his legal problems. In return, the security official wanted Broidy to use his influence in the Trump administration to secure the extradition of a wealthy Chinese national, Guo Wengui, an outspoken critic of China’s government who was living in New York under a temporary visa,” according to the Post.
“Broidy said the official promised that if Guo was deported, China would release detained U.S. citizens and possibly enter into a new cooperation agreement with the United States. But back in Washington, Broidy failed in his intense lobbying campaign to have Guo extradited. Davis eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. After Broidy pleaded guilty to the same offense, Trump pardoned him.”
As for Michel, he reportedly earned $100 million+ doing work for Low. According to prosecutor Sean F. Mulryne, he conspired “to sell our democracy” for money.
“He was greedy. He wanted money, and he got it,” Mulryne reportedly said in court.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
- Ivy League students who abuse ‘disability’ claims for perks is skyrocketing - December 5, 2025
- Chinese spy who swindled NY officials reveals Hochul ‘much more obedient’ than Cuomo: report - December 5, 2025
- New Mexico man sentenced to prison for violent threats against Trump; FBI reminds of consequences - December 5, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.