Fugees rapper found guilty of political conspiracy in trial that included testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio
27.04.2023 - 01:39
/ foxnews.com
A Fugees rapper was convicted on Wednesday after a multimillion-dollar political conspiracies trial, which included testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio. Prakazrel "Pras" Michel was accused of funneling money to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign through a now-fugitive Malaysian financier, Jho Low – one of the primary financiers of his film "Wolf of Wall Street." Michel was also accused of attempting to stop a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration. Michel is known as a founder of the 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees.
A jury in Washington, D.C., federal court found him guilty of all charges, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The defense argued Michel simply wanted to make money and got bad legal advice as he reinvented himself in the world of politics. After the verdict, Michel chose not to comment, but his lawyer shared he was "extremely disappointed" in the ruling and plans to appeal.
"This is not over," attorney David Kenner said. "I remain very, very confident we will ultimately prevail." During the trial, Michel took the stand. He argued that Low wanted a picture with Obama in 2012 and was willing to pay millions of dollars to get it.
Michel agreed to help and used some of the money he got to pay for friends to attend fundraising events. No one had ever told him that was illegal, he said. Dicaprio didn't face charges in the trial, but his testimony played a vital role.
DiCaprio and Jho Low became friends after meeting at a birthday party in 2010, according to the actor. "I understood him to be a huge businessman with many different connections in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia," he said. The
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