Update: Fugees Member Pras Michel Stands Trial For Conspiracy & Other Charges, Facing Decades In Prison If Convicted

Pras Michel

Update: Fugees Member Pras Michel Stands Trial For Conspiracy & Other Charges, Facing Decades In Prison If Convicted

Update: (Mar. 27, 2022): As previously reported, Fugees member Pras Michel is facing some serious charges, including conspiracy, witness tampering, and failing to register as an agent of China. If convicted, he’s looking at decades behind bars.

According to reports, Jury selection in Pras Michel’s long-awaited trial is set to kick off today (Mar. 27) in the federal courthouse in Washington D.C.

You may recall that the Grammy-winning musician was among those the Justice Department said were tied to fugitive businessman, Jho Low and 1MDB–a wealth fund tasked with promoting economic development in Malaysia.

Prosecutors John Keller, Sean Mulryne and Nicole Lockhart spoke on Pras Michel’s case and said,

“The defendant, Prakazrel Michel, received over $100 million from Jho Low, a foreign fugitive responsible for one of the largest embezzlement schemes in history, to use backchannel influence to convince the then-President of the United States to drop a federal investigation into Low and to agree to the extrajudicial removal of a Chinese exile living in the United States.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

[VIA]

Original story: (Oct. 12, 2022): Fugees member Pras Michel is headed to trial on November 4 for federal money laundering charges and it looks like he won’t be the only celebrity participating in the case.

According to reports, seventy-two witnesses, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and several top Trump officials, are being prepped as potential witnesses for the government.

In 2019, Pras Michel pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and falsifying records stemming from his alleged role in a Malaysian wealth fund’s campaign finance violations. He was among those who the Justice Department said were tied to fugitive businessman, Jho Low and 1MDB–a wealth fund tasked with promoting economic development in Malaysia. Pras was allegedly paid anywhere from $8 to $40 million for his role in assisting  Jho Low, who’s accused of stealing from the $4.5 billion “slush fund.”

Pras Michel

In 2019, Leonardo DiCaprio gave secret testimony to a Washington, D.C. grand jury involving his alleged role in the scandal. According to reports, he was considered a witness to an alleged conspiracy that used proceeds from the 1MDB fund to finance his movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, through its ties to the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Now, according to the list of witnesses in the Pras Michel trial, DiCaprio might once again have to answer questions about the alleged connection.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Top Trump officials on the potential witness list include former White House chief of staff John Kelly, former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger. Also on the list is the former RNC deputy finance chair and lobbyist Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent working for Chinese and Malaysian interests in 2020 and was charged in the federal probe surrounding 1MDB — Donald Trump pardoned him in 2021.

Donald Trump

As previously reported, Pras Michel was also hit with additional charges in 2021 for allegedly attempting to lobby the Trump administration into dropping its investigation into Jho Low and the 1MDB fund, while simultaneously lobbying for the Justice Department to return billionaire Guo Wengui to China. The Fugees member was also reportedly offered another $75 million if he managed to put a stop to the Department of Justice’s investigation into the 1MDB scandal.

Pras reportedly rejected a plea deal that would have required him to plead guilty to an obstruction of justice charge along with a 16-month prison sentence and financial retribution to Malaysia.

If convicted, Pras Michel could face up to 20 years in prison.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below! 

[VIA]