Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Ran Global Fraud Scheme, Feds Say

Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, best known as part of the Nineties hip-hop group the Fugees, pocketed hundreds of millions of embezzled Malaysian dollars in exchange for running a foreign-influence campaign against the U.S. government, Justice Department attorney Nicole Lockhart told jurors Thursday morning.

“The defendant needed money and was willing to do anything to get it, including being an agent of the Chinese government,” Lockhart stated during the government’s opening argument of the federal conspiracy trial. “The defendant wanted money and was willing to break any laws necessary to get paid.”

Michel is standing trial with multiple felonies in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleging his participation in a conspiracy to make illegal campaign contributions using foreign money, witness tampering, and failing to register as an agent of China. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, the most serious of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Lockhart told the court that the prosecution will link Michel to Malaysian financier Jho Low, who is suspected of siphoning more than $4.5 billion from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1MDB (1 Malaysian Development Berhad), and a Chinese government influence campaign targeted at extraditing the wealthy billionaire fugitive Guo Weng.

The rapper is being tried on 11 criminal counts including various conspiracy charges for what prosecutors said were three separate lobbying schemes to influence the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Michel has denied the allegations.

“This is a case about foreign money, influence and concealment,” Lockhart said in Washington on Thursday. Lockhart added that the case will highlight “political intrigue, backroom dealings … burner phones and lies.”