Pras Michel of the Fugees was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of illegal foreign campaign contributions.
According to NPR, Michel funneled millions of dollars into former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.
District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly handed down the sentence following his conviction in April 2023. Michel was convicted on 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Prosecutors argued that Michel “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”
“After Michel was caught, he tampered with witnesses and then perjured himself at trial,” the Justice Department said in its ruling. “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.”
Michel’s defense attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, said the 14-year sentence is “completely disproportionate to the offense.” He plans to appeal the conviction and sentence after he recommended a three-year prison sentence.
“The Government’s position is one that would cause Inspector Javert to recoil. If anything, it 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,” Zeidenberg wrote.
Michel’s spokeswoman, Erica Dumas, said he was “deeply grateful for the unwavering support of those who stand by him as he faces the road ahead.”
Michel obtained over $120 million from Malaysian billionaire Low Taek Jho. He reallocated some of those funds through straw donors to Obama’s campaign.
Michel also attempted to end the Justice Department investigation of Low by tampering with two witnesses and perjuring himself at trial.
Low financed The Wolf of Wall Street, the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who testified at the trial. Currently, Low is a fugitive but has maintained his innocence during the investigation and trial.
“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.