Prakazrel "Pras" Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his alleged involvement in an international conspiracy scheme.
According to Billboard, the former Fugees rapper received the sentence on Thursday, November 20, just weeks after a federal judge ordered him to pay $64 million in forfeiture to the United States government.
Pras' spokesperson Erica Dumas shared a statement with Complex following the sentencing. "Throughout his career Pras has broken barriers," it reads. "This is not the end of his story. He appreciates the outpouring of support as he approaches the next chapter."
While sentencing him, the D.C. federal court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly told Pras that he's "well educated but very arrogant. I feel you have no remorse.”
Pras was ordered to surrender to begin his prison sentence in the new year on January 27, 2026.
In April 2023, Pras was convicted on 10 criminal counts, including witness tampering and failing to register as an agent of China. Prosecutors accused Pras of orchestrating a back-channel foreign lobbying campaign that benefitted Jho Low, the Malaysian financier who allegedly stole billions of dollars from the state-owned wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Prosecutors said Pras had received $100 million from Low as part of an effort to influence the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Authorities said Pras and Low orchestrated an undisclosed lobbying campaign that poured millions of dollars into Obama's re-election efforts through third-party donors. They were also accused of lobbying the Trump administration after failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Their alleged goal was to persuade the Department of Justice to abandon the embezzlement probe linked to Low, as well as to secure the extradition of Chinese national Guo Wen Gui.
After his 2023 conviction, Pras secured a new legal team and requested a retrial. Pras’ lawyers argued that his previous attorney had failed to provide adequate counsel during the trial and used AI to generate his closing arguments. A judge ultimately dismissed the retrial request.
