Fugees member Pras is in more legal trouble with the government. The “Ready or Not” rapper and fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low are facing additional charges after being accused of running a back-channel campaign to get the Trump administration to drop its investigation into the 1MDB investment company.
Pras, whose real name is Prakazrel Michel, and Jho Low, whose real name is Low Taek Jho, are part of an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department into fraudulent activity by 1MDB. According to the new charges, the DOJ also accused the two of illegally lobbying to have Guo Wengui, a Chinese dissident and billionaire, returned to China.
CNBC reports that Pras and Low allegedly conspired with American venture capitalist and businessman Elliott Broidy to obstruct a federal investigation into the $6 billion money laundering and bribery scandal surrounding 1MDB. Broidy was pardoned by Trump six months ago after pleading guilty for his role in the illegal lobbying scheme on Low’s behalf. A federal court in Washington, D.C., charged Pras and Low two years ago with illegally funneling millions of dollars of Low’s money into the 2012 presidential campaign of Barack Obama.
The latest indictment against the two was announced on Thursday, June 10, by a grand jury in Washington and accuses Pras and Jho Low of conspiring with Broidy and other individuals “to engage in undisclosed lobbying campaigns at the direction of Low and the Vice Minister of Public Security for the People’s Republic of China, respectively.”
Both men also are accused of money laundering while the “Ghetto Superstar” rapper is also facing charges of witness tampering and conspiracy to make false statements to banks. Pras is facing a maximum penalty of five to 20 years in prison per count, while Jho Low potentially faces a maximum penalty of five to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the DOJ.
