Fugees founder ‘Pras’ charged with funneling fugitive Malaysian billionaire’s money to Obama’s 2012 campaign...will you see this on the mainstream media?

Fugees founder ‘Pras’ charged with funneling fugitive Malaysian billionaire’s money to Obama’s 2012 campaign

Updated May 10, 8:35 PM; Posted May 10, 6:13 PM

Joshua Blanchard | Getty Images

Prakazrel (“Pras”) Michel was charged in a campaign finance conspiracy that took place during the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

By Chris Sheldon | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

One of the founders of famed New Jersey rap group the Fugees was charged Friday with conspiring with a Malaysian billionaire to make and conceal foreign campaign contributions during the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

Prakazrel “Pras” Michel and fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States government and for making foreign and conduit campaign contributions, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The presidential candidate was referred to only as Candidate A in the indictment, but was identified in multiple reports as Barack Obama.

The object of the conspiracy was for Low to “gain access to, and potential influence with, Candidate A, and his administration,” with the help of Michel, the federal indictment said.

Michel also was charged with scheming to conceal material facts and two counts of making a false entry in a record in connection with the conspiracy.

Michel, who was a member of the Fugees alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, and grew up in Irvington, appeared for his arraignment Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey in Washington D.C.

Between June 2012 and November 2012, Low, who is still at large, directed the transfer of $21.6 million from “foreign entities and accounts” to Michel so he could funnel “significant" funds into the presidential election as legitimate contributions, Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in the release.

Michel tired to get Low into a high-profile fundraiser for Candidate A, and after he was unable to he successfully got Low’s father to attend, and the pair took photos with the candidate, according to the indictment.

Michel tried to hide Low as the true source of the contributions by paying $865,000 of the money he received received from him to about 20 straw donors, or conduits, so they could make donations in their names to a presidential joint fundraising committee, Benczkowski said.

Michel also directed $1 million of Low’s funds to an “independent expenditure committee” also involved in the 2012 presidential election, authorities said.

By using the straw donors, he caused a presidential joint fundraising committee to submit false reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the indictment stated. The $1 million that he gave to the independent expenditure committee also caused that group to submit false reports to the FEC.

“Mr. Michel is extremely disappointed that so many years after the fact the government would bring charges related to 2012 campaign contributions,” said defense lawyer Barry Pollack. “Mr. Michel is innocent of these charges and looks forward to having the case heard by a jury.”

Michel faces a separate civil forfeiture complaint accusing him in a scheme to try to get the department to drop an investigation into embezzlement from a Malaysian investment fund. Michel has denied wrongdoing in that case.

The embezzlement from the fund, known as 1MDB, became a political scandal in Malaysia. Looted money paid for jewelry and luxury art and helped finance “The Wolf of Wall Street” and other Hollywood productions films. The Justice Department last year announced charges against Low and two former Goldman Sachs bankers in a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered money from the fund, created to spur economic development projects in that country.

Low was indicted previously, along with former banker Ng Chong Hwa, also known as “Roger Ng,” in the Eastern District of New York for conspiring to launder billions of dollars and to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the release stated. That case remains pending.

This story contains material from the Associated Press.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.