Pras Found Guilty on All 10 Counts in Federal Conspiracy Case, Fugees Rapper Facing Up to 20 Years

Prakazrel Michel, better known as Pras, was found guilty Wednesday for his involvement in an international conspiracy scheme in which millions of dollars in foreign money was used for the purpose of influencing U.S. government officials. 

According to TMZ, Pras, who was deemed guilty on all 10 counts, faces up to 20 years in prison. His attorney David Kenner expressed disappointment with the jury’s decision, and vowed to appeal the ruling. 

Pras made separate donations to the campaigns of Barack Obama and Donald Trump with money supplied to him by Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. Through his contributions, Low wanted to take advantage of Pras’ alleged relationship with Obama, and connect with someone associated with the Trump administration who could bury an embezzlement case. 

The Fugees MC was charged with campaign finance violations in 2019. He was approached about taking a plea deal that would have tossed all of his charges, and returned a portion of the $74 million seized from his four bank accounts. However, he was so sure of his innocence that he turned down the deal and decided to move forward with a trial that now had eight additional charges tacked onto it. 

Pras admitted to being an FBI informant during his testimony in the trial, drawing backlash from his fans. 50 Cent, who criticized him via Instagram, wrote, “I knew this fool was a rat. I’m glad I never fvck with this guy.” 

A date for his sentencing has not been announced.