Fugees Member Pras Sentenced To 14 Years In Federal Prison

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Fugees group member, Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on Nov. 20, after the recording artist was found guilty on 10 counts, including witness tampering, conspiracy, and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government in 2023.

According to The Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly gave him the 14-year sentence after federal prosecutors requested that he be given a life sentence because he “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”

Pras’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, told the court that his client should be given a three-year prison sentence, as a life sentence would be an “absurdly high” punishment, especially when compared to what is given to deadly terrorists and drug cartel leaders.

BREAKING: Fugees star Pras Michel has been sentenced to 14 years for funneling foreign money into Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.

Prosecutors say he took over $120 million from Malaysian billionaire Jho Low, used straw donors to pass it along, and later tried to shut down a DOJ… pic.twitter.com/gqsGaddWI6
— Digi Gal (@DigitalGalX) November 21, 2025

The “Ghetto Superstar” rapper, who did not speak at the hearing, will appeal the decision, Zeidenberg stated. He feels that his client’s sentence is “completely disproportionate to the offense.”

Pras’s representative, Erica Dumas, released a written statement to Billboard.

“Pras has spent his career breaking barriers and defying expectations. While today marks a difficult moment, it is not the end of his story or his legacy. He is profoundly grateful for the continued support of those who believe in him as he prepares for what lies ahead.”

On Oct. 30, a federal judge ordered the Brooklyn native to surrender more than $64 million to the U.S. government.

In 2019, Pras was arrested and charged after being accused of funneling money from fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, who is purported to be the mastermind of a billion-dollar 1MDB embezzlement scheme, in a lobbying campaign aimed at persuading the Trump administration (during his first presidency) to drop its investigation into the financier.

The rapper was also accused of secretly funneling Low’s money to President Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, and trying to influence an extradition case on behalf of China.