Fugees founding member Prakazrel « Pras » Michel was sentenced to 14 years in prison for illegally funneling foreign money to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
Fugees founding member Prakazrel « Pras » Michel was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in federal prison.
A Washington, D.C., jury determined he illegally funneled millions in foreign money to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, a sprawling political scandal that prosecutors say involved lies, secret influence and the misuse of more than $100 million.
Michel, 52, declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him.
His defense attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, pushed back on the ruling, arguing his client’s punishment far exceeds similar cases.
He noted in a statement to Fox News Digital that Michel’s 168-month sentence is « three years more than Senator Menendez, who provided clandestine military assistance to Egypt while he was the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. »
Zeidenberg said the verdict « was unsupported by the evidence » and the sentence « completely disproportional to the facts alleged », especially compared to others involved in the scheme.
« Elliott Broidy was pardoned, George Higginbotham got three months’ probation and Nicki Lum Davis received 24 months », he said.
« There simply is no justification for Mr. Michel being singled out like this except for the penalty for opting for trial », Zeidenberg said. « We will appeal. »
Michel was convicted in April 2023 on 10 federal counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
