WASHINGTON (AP) — A Fugees rapper accused in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies spanning 2 presidencies was convicted Wednesday after a trial that included testimony ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Prakazrel “Pras” Michel was accused of funneling money from a now-fugitive Malaysian financer through straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, then trying to squelch a Justice Department investigation & influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.
Michel first met Malaysian financer Low Taek Jho in 2006, when the businessman usually known as Jho Low was dropping huge sums of money. Low helped finance films, including “The Wolf of Wall Street.” DiCaprio testified Low had appeared to him as a legitimate businessman & had mentioned wanting to donate to Obama’s campaign.
Michel also testified in his own defense. He said Low wanted a picture with Obama in 2012 & was willing to pay millions of dollars to get it. Michel agreed to help & used some of the money he got to pay for friends to attend fundraising events. No one had ever told him that was illegal, he said.
Prosecutors said Michel was donating the money on Low’s behalf & later tried to lean on the straw donors with texts from burner phones to keep them from talking to investigators.
After the election of Donald Trump, prosecutors say Michel again took millions to halt an investigation into allegations Low masterminded a money laundering & bribery scheme that pilfered billions from the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB.
Michel also got paid to try & persuade the U.S. to extradite back to China a government critic suspected of crimes there without registering as a foreign agent.
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