Pras of the Fugees Might Face Trump Officials and Leonardo DiCaprio In Money Laundering Trial

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The Fugees member, Pras Michel, is set to go to trial on federal money laundering charges on Nov. 4 and the case could produce a star-studded witness lineup.

Ahead of the trial start date, it’s being said that federal prosecutors plan to call actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, and former Trump White House chief of staff, John Kelly, to the witness stand, Business Insider reports.

Michel, real name Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, is accused of illegally funneling contributions to Barack Obama‘s presidential campaign in 2012 and lobbying the Trump administration years later on behalf of the Chinese government and the Malaysian financier, Jho Low.

Michel pleaded not guilty to the charges and is set to go to trial to defend his claimed innocence. Federal prosecutors believe the Fugees founding member took part in an “illicit, for-profit, undisclosed foreign lobbying campaign” to help Low in connection to a Justice Department investigation into the looting of a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, dubbed the 1MDB scandal.

Low is accused of laundering billions from the 1MDB fund to pay bribes to Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials. DiCaprio’s name has been linked to the case due to his history with Low.

The Academy Award-winning actor received funding from Low for his 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street. It’s believed that the money DiCaprio received from Low was stolen from the fund.

Others named in the suit include Trump administration officials, including former White House chief of staff John Kelly, former national security advisor, H.R. McMaster, Republican fundraiser, Elliot Broidy, and casino mogul, Stephen Wynn.

Prosecutors believe Michel recruited about 20 “straw donors” who made campaign contributions with Low’s money, believed to be stolen from the 1MDB fund. Following the rapper’s 2019 indictment, Michel is said to have tried to “intimidate and corruptly persuade” one of the straw donors to not fully cooperate with the investigation, prosecutors said in a court filing.