Prakazrel ‘Pras’ Michel has declared he "never wanted to be a spy" but part of it felt "sexy".
Pras Michel has spoken out about his criminal convictions
The Fugees star, 52, is facing 22 years in prison after being convicted of 10 charges - including acted as an unregistered agent of a foreign government - in an international fraud case after he accepted $100 million from disgraced Malaysian financier Jho Low to influence the administrations of US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Pras has now spoken about the case and insisted he never dreamed of becoming a secret agent. He told Variety: "I don’t know if subconsciously it was a bit exciting for me ... I like spy movies, but I never wanted to be a spy. I don’t think that’s sexy. But a part of it felt like that ...
"Technically, I’m a foreign agent."
The musician was convicted in April 2023 and faces a sentencing hearing in January which will determine his fate, but he's adamant he plans to appeal from behind bars.
He added: "I’m going to fight, and I’m going to appeal, but there’s a possibility that I’m going in [to prison] while I’m fighting. It’s just the reality."
The charges included claims Pras violating campaign finance laws during Barack Obama's 2012 election campaign and illegally lobbed the Trump administration in 2017, but the musician argued he simply wanted to make money and got bad legal advice while reinventing himself in the world of politics.
In the interview with Variety, Pras admitted he's not holding out any hope of every rejoining his former Fugees bandmates Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean on tour.
He added: "I’m done with that. They’re going to Europe [to tour]. I can’t go, so ... It’s what it is. You can’t give people that kind of energy. So you could be frustrated, you could be disappointed, but I really believe in my path and in my journey, and I believe what’s mine, no one’s going to be able to take it away from me.
"So it’s better that you have a small group of people who really believe in you and believe in what you’re doing than to have 100 people around you, and the minute something happens - boom. People just disappear."
Pras recently sued Hill over claims including the allegation she "grossly mismanaged the set-up, marketing and budgeting of" their 2023 tour which was "designed to lose money".
The singer called the legal action "baseless" and insisted the lawsuit is "full of false claims and unwarranted attacks".
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