Rapper's fortune explored amid guilty verdict in federal conspiracy case

Publish date: 2024-05-04

Rapper Pras Michel has been found responsible for being involved in a conspiracy worth millions for illegal lobbying and campaign contributions. Michel was charged with receiving $865,000 from financier Low Taek Jho and offering the same to some donors who used it for campaign contributions to Barack Obama in 2012.

Michel has been charged with trying to speak to the Trump administration and the Justice Department to discontinue federal investigations against Low for embezzlement and for helping China while trying to bring back a Chinese dissident.

10 other charges have been imposed against Michel, including money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and campaign finance violations. He could possibly be sentenced to 20 years.

Kenneth A. Polite Jr., the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department, also expressed his satisfaction with Michel's guilty verdict, saying that anyone who engages in unlawful activities to influence officials, elections, and the criminal justice system shall be brought to justice.

Pras Michel has earned a lot from his successful career in the music and entertainment industry

Pras Michel has accumulated a lot of wealth from his rapping and acting career (Image via Cheriss May/Getty Images)

Pras Michel has gained recognition over the years as a member of the hip-hop group Fugees. He has released two albums in his musical career and has been an actor and producer in different films. All this has contributed a lot to his earnings over the years, and according to CelebrityNetWorth, the 50-year-old's net worth is estimated to be around $20 million.

Michel participated in a $2.2 million bid to purchase New York's Plaza Hotel in 2014. He submitted his bid in collaboration with a few celebrities. He rented different houses in Soho and Los Angeles and reportedly spent a lot of money on them.

Pras released his first album, Blunted on Reality, in February 1994. It reached the 122nd spot on the UK Album Charts and the 62nd on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Michel's second album, The Score, was released in 1996 and received positive reviews. It also grabbed the first spot on the US Billboard 200.

He also released three compilation albums and one remix album. He is also famous for his singles, including Happy Neads, Killing Me Softly, No Woman, No Cry, Take It Easy, and more.

Michel was also featured in several films, including Mystery Men, Da Hip Hop Witch, Careful What You Wish For, The Mutant Chronicles, and more.

Charges imposed on Pras Michel

Pras Michel has known Malaysian businessman Jho Low since 2006. Low was accused of stealing billions from the Malaysian Economic Development Fund, also known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB. Michel was paid between $8 million and $40 million to help Low.

Michel was charged with assisting Low in defrauding the US government by transferring funds worth $21 million overseas. $1 million from those funds was moved into Barack Obama's election campaign to avoid detection in 2012.

While Michel was supposed to stand trial in November 2022, Leonardo DiCaprio was revealed to be one of the witnesses to testify against Michel, and according to the Daily Mail, DiCaprio had previously testified as a witness to the scheme in 2019 as it was involved in his film The Wolf of Wall Street.

Pras Michel helped arrange funds for the 2013 film, and the amount was reported to be $100 million. When DiCaprio realized the charges in 2019, he went to the Department of Justice to help with the investigation.

According to DiCaprio's spokesman, he assisted the investigators in finding out if he or the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation "received any gifts or charitable donations directly or indirectly related to these parties, and if so, to return those gifts or donations as soon as possible."

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