The Score Settled: Fugees Star Sentenced to 14 Years for "Betrayal"

In a stunning conclusion to a case that blurred the lines between 1990s hip-hop royalty and high-stakes international espionage, Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel was sentenced on Thursday, November 20, 2025, to 14 years in federal prison. The sentencing, delivered by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., marks the final chapter in a convoluted saga involving foreign influence, illegal campaign finance, and witness tampering. Michel, 53, was convicted in April 2023 on 10 counts, including acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and funneling millions of dollars into former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Prosecutors argued that Michel had "betrayed his country for money," painting a picture of a man driven by "unapologetic" greed who sold his celebrity access to the highest bidder. The court heard how Michel received over $100 million from the fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho—better known as Jho Low—to orchestrate a shadow lobbying campaign. Judge Kollar-Kotelly did not mince words during the proceedings, stating that Michel’s sentence needed to reflect the "breadth and depth of his crimes" and his "indifference to the risks to his country." In addition to the prison term, Michel faces significant financial penalties, with a recent court order mandating nearly $65 million in restitution, a staggering sum that underscores the massive scale of the illicit operation.

The fall from grace for the Fugees co-founder has been as dramatic as it is tragic, transforming a cultural icon into the face of one of the largest foreign influence schemes in U.S. history. Once celebrated for the seminal album The Score, Michel found himself at the center of a geopolitical thriller that featured cameos from Hollywood elite and political power players. The trial itself was a spectacle, featuring testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio—whose film The Wolf of Wall Street was partly financed by Low—and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Prosecutors detailed how Michel not only funneled foreign money into U.S. elections but also worked behind the scenes during the Trump administration to squash an investigation into the 1MDB scandal and advocate for the extradition of a Chinese dissident. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Michel’s defense team, led by attorney Peter Zeidenberg, slammed the 14-year sentence as "completely disproportionate," arguing that such severe punishment is typically reserved for violent terrorists or drug cartel kingpins, not white-collar criminals. They have vowed to appeal the conviction, claiming that the punishment is "absurdly high" for the nature of the offenses. However, for now, the verdict stands as a stark warning about the consequences of selling political access, leaving fans to reconcile the artist who once rapped about refugees with the man now exiled to a federal penitentiary.