WASHINGTON — Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel \u201cPras\u201d Michel of the Fugees was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years in prison for a case in which he was convicted of illegally funneling millions of dollars in foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama\u2019s 2012 reelection campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michel, 52, declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In April 2023, a federal jury convicted Michel of 10 counts<\/a>, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The trial in Washington, D.C., included testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justice Department prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines recommended a life sentence for Michel, whom they said \u201cbetrayed his country for money\u201d and \u201clied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis sentence should reflect the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed,\u201d they wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defense attorney Peter Zeidenberg said his client’s 14-year sentence is \u201ccompletely disproportionate to the offense.\u201d Michel will appeal his conviction and sentence, according to his lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zeidenberg had recommended a three-year prison sentence. A life sentence would be an \u201cabsurdly high\u201d punishment for Michel given that it is typically reserved for deadly terrorists and drug cartel leaders, Michel’s attorneys said in a court filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Government\u2019s position is one that would cause Inspector Javert to recoil and, if anything, simply illustrates just how easily the Guidelines can be manipulated to produce absurd results, and how poorly equipped they are, at least on this occasion, to determine a fair and just sentence,\u201d they wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n