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Prakazrel Michel, 46, known as Pras, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and related charges stemming from the scheme, in which a Malaysian businessman, 37-year-old Jho Low, tried to funnel nearly $22 million to Obama’s campaign.
According to authorities, Pras arranged for 20 straw donors to give a total of $865,000 provided by Low to a fundraising committee. About $1 million was also given to another presidential committee.
Authorities say Low was trying to buy influence with the administration but violated laws prohibited foreigners from donating to American presidential campaigns.
Michel and Low both concealed their scheme from the Obama campaign, authorities also said.
Low remains at large.
Pras met Lauryn Hill when both were students at Maplewood’s Columbia High School. Pras later introduced Hill to Wyclef Jean to form The Fugees. The group’s second album, The Score, went multiplatinum in the late 1990s.
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