Two years after his conviction on illegal foreign lobbying and conspiracy charges, Fugees rapper Pras Michel has been ordered to pay more than $64 million. According to Billboard, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled on October 31 that Michel “obtained proceeds in the amount of at least $64,923,226 from his offenses,” which included conspiracy, witness tampering, and failing to register as an agent of China. The ruling had been delayed for months after Michel underwent emergency surgery to remove colon cancer. “They already took 100 [million] from him and now they want another 64 [million],” said Michel's spokeswoman, Erica Dumas.



Michel’s case stems from a sprawling investigation into illegal political contributions and foreign influence. Prosecutors accused him of conspiring to funnel Malaysian financier Jho Low’s money into U.S. politics and acting on behalf of China without proper registration. He faced ten counts, including conspiracy, lying to the Federal Election Commission, and witness tampering. Michel allegedly sought to connect Low and the Chinese government with officials in both the Obama and Trump administrations to advance their interests.

During his trial, Michel admitted accepting $20 million from Low in 2012 to secure a photo with then-President Obama. Prosecutors said he used $800,000 of that money to make contributions to Obama’s campaign through straw donors. They also alleged that Michel advocated for the extradition of Chinese dissident Guo Wengui and lobbied the Trump administration to drop its investigation into Low’s role in the 1MDB embezzlement scandal after receiving an additional $100 million. Michel denied wrongdoing, claiming the money was for a legitimate media venture and that he merely sought legal representation for Low. The veteran rapper is scheduled for sentencing next month, and his legal team is expected to appeal both the financial ruling and his upcoming sentence.