Pras Michel formally appealed his 14-year sentence for international lobbying and cash laundering in an try and get out of jail.

Pras Michel filed an enchantment within the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on December 4, difficult his 14-year federal jail sentence tied to a sprawling international affect and cash laundering case involving Malaysian businessman Jho Low and the 1MDB scandal.

The Fugees rapper, whose authorized workforce is led by legal professional Peter Zeidenberg, is searching for to overturn the 168-month sentence handed down on November 24 after a Washington jury convicted him in April 2023 on 10 counts, including conspiracy, illegal foreign lobbying, witness tampering and money laundering.

Federal prosecutors accused Michel of accepting greater than $100 million from Low to sway U.S. political outcomes and defend the fugitive financier from extradition.

The Justice Department mentioned Michel funneled international funds into Barack Obama’s 2012 marketing campaign and later tried to affect the Trump administration to halt its probe into the 1MDB scandal.

The case spotlighted what prosecutors described as a “back-channel lobbying campaign” geared toward derailing U.S. investigations into the multibillion-dollar fraud surrounding Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.

The 1MDB case has triggered felony proceedings in a number of international locations and stays one of many largest monetary scandals in current historical past.

Michel’s conviction is among the many few beneath the not often enforced Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people performing on behalf of international entities to reveal their actions to the Justice Department.

Alongside his prison sentence, the Grammy-winning artist was ordered to forfeit $65 million.

During sentencing, Michel’s attorneys pushed for probation, citing his philanthropic efforts and arguing that he was manipulated by Low, who stays on the run. The court docket rejected that request.

The trial additionally drew consideration for its use of synthetic intelligence software program, a primary in a federal felony case. Michel’s authorized workforce used the know-how to sift by proof and form authorized methods. However, the AI-assisted protection didn’t sway the jury.

The D.C. Circuit will now consider whether or not errors occurred throughout Michel’s trial or sentencing. The appeals course of might stretch out over months and even years.

Pras Michel rose to fame within the Nineties as a founding member of the Fugees alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. The group’s 1996 album The Score grew to become a Hip-Hop basic, that includes hits like “Ready or Not” and “Killing Me Softly.”

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