Entertainment
Fugees rapper Pras Michel receives 14-year sentence for illicit contributions tied to Obama campaign
Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” 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’s 2012 reelection campaign.
Michel, 52, declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him.
In April 2023, a federal jury convicted Michel of 10 counts, 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.
Justice Department prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines recommended a life sentence for Michel, whom they said “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”
“His sentence should reflect the breadth and depth of his crimes, his indifference to the risks to his country, and the magnitude of his greed,” they wrote.
Defense attorney Peter Zeidenberg said his client’s 14-year sentence is “completely disproportionate to the offense.” Michel will appeal his conviction and sentence, according to his lawyer.
Zeidenberg had recommended a three-year prison sentence. A life sentence would be an “absurdly high” punishment for Michel, given that it is typically reserved for deadly terrorists and drug cartel leaders, Michel’s attorneys said in a court filing.
“The Government’s 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,” they wrote.
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Michel, a Brooklyn native whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti, was a founding member of the Fugees along with childhood friends Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. Their hip-hop band won two Grammy Awards and sold tens of millions of albums.
Michel obtained more than $120 million from Malaysian billionaire Low Taek Jho — also known as Jho Low — and steered some of that money through straw donors to Obama’s campaign.
Michel said during trial that he viewed Low’s payments as “free money,” and accepted the millions over the course of nine months to help Low secure a photo op with Obama. He said under oath at the time that no one told him such payments toward political donations could have been unlawful or violations of campaign finance laws.
The Justice Department also charged Michel with serving as an unregistered foreign agent for China, alleging that in 2017 he sought to sway the Trump administration to halt its probe into Low and to extradite a Chinese government target living in the U.S. That individual, dissident Miles Guo, was charged in New York in a billion-dollar fraud case and is still in custody.
Low, who has lived in China, was one of the primary financiers of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” a movie starring DiCaprio. Low is a fugitive but has maintained his innocence.
“Low’s motivation for giving Mr. Michel money to donate was not so that he could achieve some policy objective. Instead, Low simply wanted to obtain a photograph with himself and then-President Obama,” Michel’s attorneys wrote.
In August 2024, the judge rejected Michel’s request for a new trial based in part on his defense attorney’s use of a generative artificial intelligence program during his closing of the trial’s arguments. The judges said that and other trial errors didn’t amount to a serious miscarriage of justice.
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of TV host Savannah Gutherie, is still missing but police have now found a new clue that might help the case.
A glove was found near her Tucson home and it got DNA on it, giving investigators something to study further about.
The glove was found about two miles from her house a couple of weeks after she disappeared on February 1 and it looked like that the masked man wore those gloves who was caught on her security cameras.
Sheriff Chris Nanos said the DNA belongs to someone but it might not be the kidnapper.
The person, however, works at a restaurant near the area but police haven’t shared their name just yet.
Other gloves found nearby are being tested in Florida, so the search is still ongoing.
Some experts think that there could be more than one kidnapper as blood evidence in Guthrie’s house makes them believe someone may have been holding her while waiting for a car.
Nancy’s daughter, Savannah and her family are offering a $1 million reward for any information that could help find her.
The case is still open and police is doing their best to follow any leads which might help them find Nancy Guthrie, who was last seen at her home on the night of Jan. 31.
Zayn Malik and his daughter Khai share their love for music and recently attended a new concert together.
The 33-year-old musician took to Instagram and shared a picture of his five-year-old daughter, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid, enjoying the TWICE concert for their This Is For tour.
The Pillowtalk hitmaker praised the K-pop girl group, writing, “Massive thanks for giving the girls the best night ever.”
The picture posted on Zayn’s Story showed Khai standing in the concert suite wearing a glittery outfit and sneakers as she followed the dance steps, and another kid her age who wore a similar ensemble.
The March 4 concert was not the first time the dad-daughter duo attended a concert, rather due to their shared enthusiasm for K-pop, back in July, they attended a BLACKPINK concert in New York City.
In an Instagram Story at the time, Zayn shared a picture of the both of them, writing, “@Blackpinkofficial thank you. Me & Khai loved it.”
Previously speaking about Khai’s inclination towards music, the Dusk Till Dawn singer shared on The Zach Sang Show, “She’s not expert-level, but she’s got a bit of rhythm when she’s hitting the drums and stuff. You can tell that she could definitely develop that into something.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandals have cast a dark shadow on his two daughters as their young families begin to suffer the consequences.
Princess Beatrice, who is the eldest daughter of Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, is reportedly going through marital woes with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
According to a recent report, the 37-year-old royal, already under stress owing to her father, is now facing intense criticism from her in-laws, who belong to Italian aristocracy. Edo’s family is furious over the Andrew scandals and they believe their son has been trapped in a difficult situation.
Soon after the report, it was revealed that Edoardo, who shares two daughters with Beatrice, jetted off to a luxurious island report in the US. Meanwhile, King Charles’s niece remains in UK, as per GB News.
Edoardo also took to his social media to share the update with an aerial view from his airplane window of the scenic sight near the ocean. It’s unclear if the British businessman had stayed at the lavish Island or if it was a mere business trip on behalf of his company Banda.
The property developer’s friend has claimed that the Andrew scandal has been “affecting” everyone Edoardo’s family is angry and worried about his business.
However, the friend insisted that Edo has “no plans to leave” his young family and he “loves” Beatrice. He will be sticking by his family during this tough time.
Moreover, he was also seen with his wife and some of their friends in London grabbing a coffee in London.
Although, the sudden trip across the pond does appear odd. It is possible that was just a business matter and did not relate to his family strife.
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