WASHINGTON — A Fugees rapper accused in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies spanning two presidencies was convicted Wednesday after a trial that included testimony starting from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Prakazrel “Pras” Michel was accused of funneling cash from a now-fugitive Malaysian financer by means of straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection marketing campaign, then attempting to squelch a Justice Department investigation and affect an extradition case on behalf of China beneath the Trump administration.

The protection argued the Grammy-winning rapper from the Nineteen Nineties hip-hop group the Fugees merely wished to earn cash and received dangerous authorized recommendation as he reinvented himself on this planet of politics.

Michel first met Malaysian financer Low Taek Jho in 2006, when the businessman often referred to as Jho Low was dropping enormous sums of cash and hobnobbing with the likes of Paris Hilton. Low helped finance Hollywood movies, together with “The Wolf of Wall Street.” DiCaprio testified Low had appeared to him as a professional businessman and had talked about desirous to donate to Obama’s marketing campaign.

Michel additionally testified in his personal protection. He mentioned Low wished an image with Obama in 2012 and was prepared to pay thousands and thousands of {dollars} to get it. Michel agreed to assist and used a number of the cash he received to pay for associates to attend fundraising occasions. No one had ever instructed him that was unlawful, he mentioned.

Prosecutors mentioned Michel was donating the cash on Low’s behalf, and later tried to lean on the straw donors with texts from burner telephones to maintain them from speaking to investigators.

After the election of Donald Trump, prosecutors say Michel once more took thousands and thousands to halt an investigation into allegations Low masterminded a cash laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions from the Malaysian state funding fund referred to as 1MDB. Low is now a world fugitive and has maintained his innocence.

Michel additionally received paid to attempt to persuade the U.S. to extradite again to China a authorities critic suspected of crimes there with out registering as a overseas agent, prosecutors mentioned.

On that cost, the protection pointed to testimony from Sessions, who was Trump’s prime legislation enforcement officer till he resigned in 2018. Sessions mentioned he’d been conscious the Chinese authorities wished the extradition however didn’t know Michel. The rapper’s in the end futile efforts to rearrange a gathering on the subject didn’t appear improper, the previous lawyer basic mentioned.

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