Fugees' Pras Michel Begins 14-Year Prison Sentence

Pras Michel, a founding member of the Fugees, turned himself in at the Federal Correctional Institution in Safford, Arizona, on Thursday, April 30, to begin serving a 14-year federal prison sentence stemming from his 2023 conviction on 10 felony counts.

The charges included money laundering, illegal campaign contributions, witness tampering, bank fraud, violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and acting as an unregistered agent of China. Federal prosecutors alleged that Michel, indicted in 2019, worked with Malaysian financier Jho Low, who faces accusations of embezzling more than $4.5 billion from Malaysia's 1Malaysia Development Berhad sovereign wealth fund. Authorities said Michel received millions from Low, including funds funneled as illegal donations to Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign through straw donors. Prosecutors further claimed Michel lobbied the Trump administration to halt the investigation into Low and attempted to influence U.S. officials on behalf of Chinese interests.

A federal judge convicted Michel following a trial that featured testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who described receiving financing from Low for the 2013 film...