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Pras Pleads Not Guilty In Campaign Finance Embezzlement Case

4:22 PM EDT on May 10, 2019

Pras

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 28: Pras Michel of the Fugees onstage during RollingOut 2018 Ride Conference at Loudermilk Conference Center on September 28, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

|Paras Griffin/Getty Images

One of the founding members of the 1990s hip-hop group the Fugees has been charged in a campaign finance conspiracy that took place during the 2012 election.

[articleembed id="1857453" title="'The Score'" image="1857455" excerpt="Revisit the Fugees' 1996 classic."]

The Justice Department announced the charges Friday against Prakazrel "Pras" Michel. A lawyer for Michel, Barry Pollack, says his client is innocent 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.

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 films.