WASHINGTON (AP) — Pras Michel, a rapper and producer best known as a member of the 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees, was convicted Wednesday of 10 felony counts in a sweep by federal prosecutors.
Michel had been charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
«We are extremely disappointed with the results and are very, very confident in the final outcome of this case,» Michel’s attorney, David Kenner, told reporters.
Michel will appeal his conviction after sentencing, Kenner said.
“This is not over, I remain very, very confident that we will ultimately prevail on this matter,” he said.
A date for sentencing has not yet been set.
The charges against Michel stemmed from his relationship with a Malaysian billionaire businessman, Jho Low, who spent lavishly on an extravagant lifestyle and celebrity friends. Low was charged along with Michel, but has yet to be arrested and is considered an international fugitive. Low is separately accused of embezzling billions from 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, between 2009 and 2014.
Michel told jurors during his trial that he accepted about $20 million in 2012 from Low, who wanted him to take a photo with President Barack Obama, but that the large amounts were never intended as illegal foreign campaign contributions or payment. for the services of Michel.
He also told jurors that he gave about $800,000 to friends so they could donate on his behalf and gain access to exclusive $40,000-per-seat Obama fundraisers in Miami and Washington, DC, but reiterated his belief that the money was his to spend.
Michel sent letters to some of those friends, after the FBI contacted them, stating that the money he gave them was a loan and warning of legal action if they didn’t pay it back. The letters were an intimidation tactic to prevent potential witnesses from cooperating with investigators, prosecutors said.
«In retrospect, that was nonsense,» Michel told the jury of the letters.
In 2017, Michel worked with Low to pressure the administration of President Donald Trump with two goals: getting the Justice Department to drop its investigation of Low related to the 1MDB scandal and advocating on behalf of Chinese officials for arrest and extradition. of a Chinese dissident living in the United States.
Michel told the jury that he was never told that he would have to register as a foreign agent because of that job.