Rapper Pras Michel found guilty of illegal influence in US politics

Pras Michel, the US rapper and ex-member of Fugees, the music group, has been convicted on criminal charges, including multimillion-dollar political conspiracies spanning two presidencies.

Prosecutors accused Michel of plotting with Jho Low, the Malaysian billionaire businessman, to try and influence the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

The Grammy-winning rapper was alleged to have collected over $100 million from Low which was used in two efforts to influence US politics.

He was accused of funneling money to Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and lobbying the justice department during Trump’s tenure to abandon investigations into Low’s alleged corruption.

Pras was charged with 10 counts of crimes including acting as an unregistered foreign agent of China, witness tampering, and falsifying campaign finance records.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.

But on Wednesday, the rapper was convicted after a trial at a Washington DC court that included testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Sessions, Trump-era attorney general.

Pras, who gained fame in the 1990s with hits including ‘Ready or Not’ and ‘Killing Me Softly’, now faces years in prison.

While the rapper refused to comment after the verdict, BBC quoted David Kenner, his lawyer, as saying that plans are underway to file an appeal.

“This is not over,” said the lawyer. “I remain very, very confident that we will ultimately prevail in this matter.”