Pras Michel, best known as a member of the Fugees, has started serving a 14-year federal sentence after reporting to a prison facility in Safford, Arizona on April 30.

The sentence follows his 2023 conviction on a range of charges, including money laundering, illegal lobbying, and violations of U.S. campaign finance laws. In a statement, his spokesperson Erica Dumas said:

“Today is a painful day for Pras, for his family, and for everyone who believes in a fair system of justice ... Pras honors the legal process as he reports to begin his sentence. The FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] related charges that led to his conviction are being vigorously contested on appeal, and his legal team believes the record will show that his rights were violated and the truth was obscured. This chapter is difficult, but it is not his final one.”

Dumas also noted the appeal process is just beginning, adding: “He has to fight it on the inside. His appeal is in the very beginning stages. As you can imagine, it’s a very complicated case with lots of files.”

Michel was first charged by federal prosecutors in 2019 over alleged illegal donations tied to Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign. The case broadened to include accusations of bank fraud, witness tampering, and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, along with claims he acted as an unregistered agent for the People’s Republic of China.

Central to the case is his reported connection to financier Jho Low, who has been accused of orchestrating the theft of billions from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Low has denied wrongdoing.

Coverage from Billboard and Consequence outlined allegations that Michel operated on Low’s behalf without registering under FARA. Prosecutors said he routed money into U.S. politics, including support for both Barack Obama and Donald Trump, with the goal of gaining political influence.

Among the claims: that funds were funneled through intermediaries into Obama’s 2012 campaign, and that Michel later lobbied officials during the Trump administration to intervene in the Department of Justice’s investigation into 1MDB. Authorities said he was paid millions for these efforts.

A jury ultimately found Michel guilty in April 2023 on 10 counts, including making false statements to banks and witness tampering. He had previously declined a plea agreement that would have significantly reduced his prison time to around 16 months and allowed partial recovery of seized assets. After trial, he was sentenced to 14 years, ordered to forfeit more than $64 million, and will face three years of supervised release following incarceration.

The legal proceedings also disrupted plans for a Fugees reunion, forcing the cancellation of their 2021 tour. The group did, however, appear together for a limited number of performances in 2023.

The wider investigation ties back to the 1MDB scandal, a major international fraud case involving a fund created in 2009 by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. He was imprisoned in 2020 after authorities determined that hundreds of millions of dollars had been diverted into his personal accounts.

Although Jho Low held no official role in the fund, investigators have described him as a key figure in the scheme. Some of the misappropriated money was allegedly used to finance Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street. During the trial, actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified that Low used funds connected to the scandal to help back the film and build influence within the film industry.