Former Fugues Rapper Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Illegally Donating Millions to Obama's Campaign
In a dramatic turn of events, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has handed down a 14-year prison sentence to Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, a former member of the iconic hip-hop group The Fugues. The stern punishment stems from Michel's role in funneling millions of dollars in illicit foreign contributions to former US President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.
Prosecutors argued that Michel betrayed his country for personal gain, taking advantage of lax regulations and exploiting his connections with a fugitive Malaysian financier, Low Taek Jho (also known as Jho Low), who is wanted for his alleged involvement in the massive 1MDB scandal. The scheme involved straws donors to funnel millions of dollars through Michel's accounts to Obama's campaign.
The trial revealed that Low had amassed billions of dollars through corrupt means and was using his lavish spending spree, which included financing Hollywood projects like Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Wolf of Wall Street," to curry favor with high-profile Americans. However, prosecutors contended that Michel knowingly took advantage of this situation, lying unapologetically about the source of his funds.
"Prakazrel Michel betrayed his country for money. He funnelled millions of dollars in prohibited foreign contributions into a United States presidential election and attempted to manipulate a sitting president to serve a foreign criminal and a foreign power," prosecutors stated.
Michel's defense team countered that Low's motivation was not to influence Obama, but rather to obtain a photo with him. Despite this assertion, judges and lawyers alike were unswayed by the claim, emphasizing Michel's greed and indifference to the risks his actions posed to national security.
Critics hailed the sentence as "completely disproportionate" and "absurdly high," citing that such terms are typically reserved for serious offenders like terrorists or cartel leaders. Defense lawyer Peter Zeidenberg vowed to appeal the verdict, arguing that a three-year prison sentence would have been more fitting.
The conviction marks a significant fall from Michel's former life as a Grammy-winning artist and Fugues member, whose group sold tens of millions of albums in the 1990s. As he now faces a long stretch behind bars, his legacy has been forever tarnished by his role in this high-profile corruption case.
In a dramatic turn of events, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has handed down a 14-year prison sentence to Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, a former member of the iconic hip-hop group The Fugues. The stern punishment stems from Michel's role in funneling millions of dollars in illicit foreign contributions to former US President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.
Prosecutors argued that Michel betrayed his country for personal gain, taking advantage of lax regulations and exploiting his connections with a fugitive Malaysian financier, Low Taek Jho (also known as Jho Low), who is wanted for his alleged involvement in the massive 1MDB scandal. The scheme involved straws donors to funnel millions of dollars through Michel's accounts to Obama's campaign.
The trial revealed that Low had amassed billions of dollars through corrupt means and was using his lavish spending spree, which included financing Hollywood projects like Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Wolf of Wall Street," to curry favor with high-profile Americans. However, prosecutors contended that Michel knowingly took advantage of this situation, lying unapologetically about the source of his funds.
"Prakazrel Michel betrayed his country for money. He funnelled millions of dollars in prohibited foreign contributions into a United States presidential election and attempted to manipulate a sitting president to serve a foreign criminal and a foreign power," prosecutors stated.
Michel's defense team countered that Low's motivation was not to influence Obama, but rather to obtain a photo with him. Despite this assertion, judges and lawyers alike were unswayed by the claim, emphasizing Michel's greed and indifference to the risks his actions posed to national security.
Critics hailed the sentence as "completely disproportionate" and "absurdly high," citing that such terms are typically reserved for serious offenders like terrorists or cartel leaders. Defense lawyer Peter Zeidenberg vowed to appeal the verdict, arguing that a three-year prison sentence would have been more fitting.
The conviction marks a significant fall from Michel's former life as a Grammy-winning artist and Fugues member, whose group sold tens of millions of albums in the 1990s. As he now faces a long stretch behind bars, his legacy has been forever tarnished by his role in this high-profile corruption case.
I gotta say, Pras Michel's sentence is just...way too harsh 
. 14 years in prison? That's just crazy talk! 
I mean, I get it, he messed up big time and broke the law, but 14 whole years? That seems like a lot to me 
. I think 3-4 years would've been more fitting for his crime 
.
. I mean, who was the guy on the other side of the table? The president himself! 
That's a whole lot of power and influence to be wielded over someone like Pras Michel 
. It just seems like he got caught with his pants down, and now he's paying the price.
. And what about Low Taek Jho? The guy who actually did the dirty work here? 
Why hasn't he gotten the same treatment? It just seems like a case of "somebody's gotta take the fall" 
.
. Maybe this is an opportunity for him to reflect on what went wrong and come out stronger on the other side 
.
. Millions of dollars for personal gain? It's just not right. I mean, think about it, someone with that kind of power and influence using their position to line their own pockets... it's a total abuse of trust. I'm all for holding people accountable, but 14 years is a lot 
. Maybe a three-year sentence would've been more fitting? Anyway, at the end of the day, justice has been served 
so like pras michel is supposed to be some kinda hero or something now he's just sitting in jail for 14 years over some money 
but also lol what's up with this guy low taek jho? sounds like a real-life villain 
anyway, i feel bad for pras michel's fam and his music career now... can u imagine if he had a daughter or something who grows up without her dad in prison 
14 years is way too harsh a sentence for just funneling some money to obama's campaign... like what's the big deal? it was a tiny fraction of the trillions he spent on wars and stuff 
... and honestly, I kinda feel bad for him - he was in over his head with that Malaysian guy Jho Low 
... but at the same time, you can't deny what he did was wrong 
. It's like, he knew it was sketchy and went through with it anyway 
, but like, at the same time I think it's way too harsh 
, should we really be throwing the book at him? On the other hand, I'm not buying the "he just wanted to meet Obama" excuse 
And what about Low Taek Jho, was he really just using his money to try and curry favor with Obama or was that some kind of clever ruse? 
.