(L) Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo by UNclimatechange via Wikimedia Commons. (R) Pras Michel. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Pras Michel, a former member of the multiplatinum, iconic rap trio Fugees, is facing a litany of federal campaign finance charges. The songwriter and rapper is accused of acting on behalf of Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman and fugitive accused of embezzling billions of dollars from his home country's government. Michel has pled guilty to all charges, and his trial began on Monday (April 3) with Leonardo DiCaprio taking the stand for the prosecution.
DiCaprio, who is not charged with a crime, detailed his relationship with Low over the course of his one-hour testimony as the prosecution attempted to illustrate the extent of Low's alleged crimes. The two men became friends after meeting at a birthday party in 2010; two years later, Low allegedly told DiCaprio of his plans to donate between $20 and $30 million over the course of the 2012 presidential election to the Democratic Party. DiCaprio says he may have met Michel twice: once in the '90s at a Fugees concert, and another at his house for Thanksgiving dinner, although the actor was foggy on the latter event.
Prosecutors believe that Low laundered his allegedly embezzled money through a movie production company called Red Granite Pictures. The company offered to finance DiCaprio's film The Wolf of Wall Street; the actor's lawyers and a third party ran background checks on the company's finances, with everything reportedly passing the test. Later, when accepting the award for Best Actor at the Golden Globes, DiCaprio thanked Low specifically.
The federal government believes that Michel conspired with Low to make illegal campaign contributions during the 2012 election, failed to register as an agent of the Chinese government, and engaged in witness tampering. He faces over 20 years in jail if convicted.