Pras Michel Begins 14-Year Prison Sentence for Money Laundering

Fugees rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel surrenders to authorities and starts a 14-year prison sentence for money laundering and illegal lobbying.

According to a Rolling Stone report, published on Friday (May 1), the 53-year-old rapper turned himself in on Thursday (April 30) to the Federal Correctional Institution in Safford, Ariz., to serve his 14-year sentence following his April 2023 conviction on 10 federal charges, including money laundering, illegal foreign lobbying, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and witness tampering.

"Today is a painful day for Pras, for his family, and for everyone who believes in a fair system of justice," said Pras' spokesperson Erica Dumas said in a statement to Rolling Stone. "Pras honors the legal process as he reports to begin his sentence. The FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act)-related charges that led to his conviction are being vigorously contested on appeal, and his legal team believes the record will show that his rights were violated and the truth was obscured. This chapter is difficult but it is not his final one."

Pras was initially sentenced in Washington D.C. federal court on Nov. 21, 2025. He was supposed to surrender in March, but the judge pushed the surrender date back 30 more days. After serving his prison sentence, the Fugees member will be place on probation for three years. He was also ordered to forfeit $64 million that's allegedly linked to his crimes.

As previously reported, Pras was found guilty for his involvement in a multi-million dollar international conspiracy, acting on behalf of billionaire financier Jho Low — who is accused of embezzling billions from the 1MDB Malaysian development fund — to illegally lobby the U.S. government. The rap veteran was also implicated in an Obama campaign fund scandal, where he was charged with defrauding the U.S. government by facilitating "foreign and conduit campaign contributions" for a then-president Barack Obama's 2012 re-election bid. Prosecutors alleged that Pras pocketed millions of dollars through these illicit schemes.

Before beginning his prison sentence, Pras attended Ye's April 3 concert in Los Angeles, where he watched his fellow Fugees cohort Lauryn Hill join the Chicago rapper-producer for a performance of "All Falls Down" and other songs. Incidentally, in March, Pras dropped his lawsuit against Ms. Hill in which he alleged that she took advantage of his legal woes to pressure him into a Fugees reunion tour.