Ex legend maker set chinese trial#
Low is believed to be in China Michel stood trial alone.Īnd in the days of testimony, the witnesses included former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a top White House adviser to former President Donald Trump and actor Leonardo DiCaprio whose movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, was funded by Low.ĭiCaprio arrived at court under heavy security and testified that Low told him he wanted to spend $20 or $30 million to help reelect Obama back in 2012. Prosecutors said Michel collected about $100 million from Low to try to influence two U.S. back to China to curry favor with the Chinese government. One part of that alleged scheme was to try to get Trump to send a dissident living in the U.S. Years later, after the FBI started investigating Low for stealing money, Low wanted Michel and others to help him convince the Trump White House to go easy on Low. Michel faced charges stemming from his relationship to Jho Low, a Malaysian billionaire accused of stealing $4 billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.īack in 2012, prosecutors said Michel used Low's illegal foreign money to buy seats for people at fundraisers for then-President Barack Obama. Law Actor Leonardo DiCaprio testifies in Fugees' Pras Michel conspiracy trial
He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Ultimately, Michel was convicted of conspiracy, concealment of material facts, making false entries in records, witness tampering, and serving as an unregistered agent of a foreign power. He netted the attention of federal authorities when he waded into international and national politics.
It was a case that spanned actions on two continents and multiple countries, a star studded witness list, foreign intrigue and both domestic and international influence peddling.Īt the center, prosecutors said, was Michel, 50, a member of the '90s-era group Fugees whose 1996 album The Score remains one of the top streaming albums of all time, and who later tried to reinvent himself as a businessman and a humanitarian. Grammy-winning musician Pras Michel has been convicted in a federal court in Washington, D.C., on 10 counts related to charges that include conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an agent of China. Pras Michel, former member of the Fugees, center, and his lawyer David Kenner arrive to federal court in Washington, D.C., on April 3, 2023.
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