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Pras Michel, a member of the Fugees, was arrested in 2023, among other things Convicted of money laundering, illegal lobbying and violations of campaign finance laws. He has now turned himself in to the Federal Correctional Institution in Safford, Arizona, where he will serve a 14-year sentence.
“Today is a painful day for Pras, for his family and for everyone who believes in a fair legal system,” Michel’s spokeswoman Erica Dumas said in a statement. “Pras respects the legal process as he carries out his sentence. The charges that led to his conviction will be vigorously contested on appeal. His legal team is confident that the record will show that his rights were violated and the truth was obscured. This chapter is difficult – but it is not his last.”
A judge initially asked Michel to begin his sentence in January, but then moved the date to March. He then granted him a further 30 days’ reprieve, making April 30 the final deadline.
“He has to fight the fight from within,” Dumas tells ROLLING STONE. “The appeal process is still in its early stages. As you can imagine, this is an extremely complicated case with a lot of files.”
Last exit with Kanye
According to Dumas, Michel spent the time before going to prison with his family. “He hardly goes out,” she says. “He is vegan, doesn’t drink and doesn’t smoke.” His last major outing was Kanye West’s April 3 concert in Los Angeles, where, according to Dumas, he hung out in a suite with Dave Chappelle and Erykah Badu and sang along when Lauryn Hill took the stage as West’s guest.
In 2023, Michel attended the Fugees’ reunion appearances, but later distanced himself from Hill and Wyclef Jean – Dumas nevertheless emphasized that he sang along to one of Hill’s songs. In March, Michel dropped a lawsuit against Hill.
Federal prosecutors indicted Michel in 2019, accusing him of making illegal contributions to President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. The charges were later expanded to include bank fraud, concealment of material facts and witness interference. He is also accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act and acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China.
ROLLING STONE reported that the allegations stemmed from Michel’s connection to Low Taek Jho. The Malaysian financier is accused of embezzling $4.5 billion from a government fund. The US Justice Department alleged that Michel used some of that money to pressure the Trump administration to drop the investigation into the financier.