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Dj Frosty 2024-11-26 MIX 1

DJ FROSTY

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State Champ Radio Mix

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State Champ Radio Mix

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pras

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Pras Michel is at the center of an explosive federal conspiracy trial unfolding in Washington in connection to an alleged Malaysian embezzler who wanted a photo with former President Barack Obama. The Fugees rapper took the stand this week and claimed that he became an informant for the FBI after his dealings with Low Taek, also known as Jho Low, began to head into murky territory.
Pras Michel, 50, was inside the U.S. District Court in Washington on Tuesday (April 18) when he took the stand in the conspiracy trial where he faces charges of money laundering, campaign finance violations, and other related charges in what authorities say was a sham to cover the $4.5 billion Low, 41, allegedly stole from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.

The most detailed accounts of Michel’s testimony came by way of Katie Buehler, a reporter for Law360 who covers court cases in Washington. In a series of tweets, Buehler was able to encapsulate how bizarre it is that a former top-charting rapper is at the center of a conspiracy case with global implications.
“Ex-Fugees rapper Pras Michel has taken the witness stand and is seemingly trying to charm the jury. Before answering any questions, he conducted a microphone check, saying, “Mic check 1, 2” twice. He also said “bless you” after an observer in the courtroom sneezed,” read the first tweet of a thread that broke down Michel’s testimony.
It was followed with, “Michel, who is accused of conspiring to funnel foreign money into and assert influence over American politics, explained he grew up in a strict, religious household and that his fame with the Fugees saw him go “from being on the streets of New York to Park Avenue overnight.”
Michel said he first met Low in 2006 in a New York nightclub where the businessman displayed reckless spending and exceptional wealth adding in his testimony that Low’s actions were, “something I’ve never witnessed in my life.”
Low essentially employed Michel to arrange the photo opportunity with President Obama by way of an Obama fundraising official who has decided not to testify by invoking his Fifth Amendment rights despite not facing charges.
According to Michel, he pocketed around $12 million and used $2 million of the cash Low gave him to attend an Obama fundraiser and somehow make the photo happen. The fundraising official instructed Michel to keep Low away from the fundraiser and then received another $20 million from Low for a chance at the photo.
The thread from the reporter ends with Michel saying he met with federal agents in New York in connection to Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman arrested on money laundering, fraud, and other charges that China wanted to be extradited.
“I took it upon myself to report because I thought the FBI should know,” Michel said on the stand.
Read the entire thread below.


Photo: Tasos Katopodis / Getty

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Source: Kevork Djansezian / Getty
Pras is fighting one of the most high profile cases this year. So high profile that Leonardo DiCaprio has testified at the trial.

As spotted on Digital Music News The Fugees member is facing some very serious charges. The Department Of Justice alleges that in 2012 he aided in the transferring millions of dollars in donations to the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign. The DOJ says that the funds were disguised at legitimate contributions to help the then democrat win the race but in actuality the monies were stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad via Malaysian financier Jho Low.

On Monday, April 3 the critically acclaimed actor took the stand to detail his dealings with Low throughout the years. “He had a multitude of different parties,” he revealed. “Some of them were on boats. Some were at nightclubs, dinners”. Low also made contributions to get Wolf Of Wall Street made to which the thespian had to answer to. But to hear Leo tell it; it was Low’s team who he dealt with when it came to matters of any financing. “My understanding was I was given the green light by my team, as well as the studio, to accept financing from Mr. Low”.
Leonardo DiCaprio says he has been social with Pras since meeting him backstage at a concert years back. Pras had pled not guilty to the charges and his lawyer is David Kenner; the same legal eagle who represented Suge Knight, 2Pac, Death Row Records and now reportedly represents Tory Lanez.

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
Pras is finally speaking up regarding some charges he is facing. He denies being apart of a international financial conspiracy.

As spotted on Vulture The Fugees founding member is claiming he had no parts of one of the world’s most infamous scandals. In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Business Week Magazine he gives his side of the story that in essence reads likes a James Bond spy caper. He says back in 2017 he was summoned to a midtown Manhattan hotel for a secret meeting with Sun Lijun, China’s vice minister of public security.

His account is that he formed a relationship Jho Low, a Malaysian fugitive businessman. The federal authorities claim Pras eventually started funneling Low’s money which reportedly included funds being donated to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign (a crime for a foreign national). But Low had allegedly been embezzling funds from the Malaysian fund 1MDB and the feds soon came for the “How Many Mics” rapper and seized a whopping $95 million dollars from him.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Pras on May 10, 2019, for his part in an alleged criminal conspiracy with Low. In June 2021, Pras was charged by a federal grand jury for running a back-channel campaign to get the Trump administration to drop an investigation of Jho Low and the 1MDB investment company. He was also accused of advocating for the extradition of a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, from the United States.
Pras has refused a plea deal. His trial will start March 27.


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