Pras Michel of the two-time Grammy-winning group The Fugees recently admitted to being an FBI informant. So naturally, fans are flooding social media with some unfiltered reactions to the bizarre news.
The 50-year-old rapper is being charged for “money laundering scheme and association with a foreign country attempting to influence the U.S. government.” As Blavity previously reported, Michel’s legal woes began in 2018 when the federal government seized nearly $74 million he had across four banks as a result of his alleged involvement in financial crimes connected to the alleged embezzlement phenom Jho Low, according to Rolling Stone.
In May 2019, the government charged him with the first indictment on four criminal counts for illegally contributing a little over $1 million to Barack Obama‘s 2012 presidential reelection campaign and offered him a plea deal. When Michel declined the deal, eight more charges were added to his indictment, including “bank fraud, concealment of material facts, witness tampering, violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and working as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China.” The Justice Department also believes Michel donated money to Donald Trump‘s campaign with Low’s assistance.
Earlier in April, Michel took the stand regarding his federal conspiracy case. During his testimony, he admitted to working with the FBI as a federal informant but still claims his innocence. Prior to his testimony, Michel sat down with Rolling Stone for a candid interview, where he discussed his ongoing case and the possibility of serving up to 22 years in prison.
“What benefit would I get trying to break laws? It’s not worth it to me,” Pras told the publication. “I’m like a pariah now. I’ve got friends who won’t talk to me because they think there’s a satellite in orbit listening to them.”
Since The Fugees’ were a music group that impacted the culture of hip hop and representated the Carribean culture with Jean and Michel being Haitian-American, fans are shocked that Michel is a “snitch,” as the streets would call him, and they are sharing their thoughts on Twitter.
Maybe I need to revread this but he was a informant for the fbi but is facing 22 years for the conspiracy of being an unregistered agent of China 🤔 so bro was a double agent? He played us when he was really working for the Chinese?
—King YE (@LordYeezus) on April 24, 2023
Another thing that was not on my 2023 bingo card 💀 @genuine_shotz
— Chillin nshit (@_Chalantless) April 25, 2023
Moral of the story, its okay to be a double agent so long you report your income to the IRS.
— Otis Zeon, MD (@otiszeon) April 24, 2023
Pras having a solo career should have been the first sign😂
— KANANJI BROWN JACKSON (@KingKananji) April 24, 2023
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time a member of The Fugees has had a run-in with the law. A decade ago, Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty for failing to pay her taxes. Billboard reported that the Grammy winner was sentenced to three months in jail and three months on house arrest. And in 2017, Wyclef Jean was arrested in a case of mistaken identity by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to Ebony magazine.