Fugees star Pras Michel pictured outside court ahead of trial related to Malaysian scammer Jho Low

Rapper Pras Michel was seen near a Washington DC courthouse on Tuesday as jury selection continues in his long-awaited fraud trial.

The New Jersey-born musician, who made his fortune as a member of The Fugees, became entangled in a complex web spun by Malaysian financier Jho Low. Low remains at large and is believed to be living in China.

Michel, who portrayed himself as a political activist and influencer connector after the Fugees disbanded, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an agent of China.

Michel is accused of taking millions of dollars from Low to help him make political connections and influence people. Michel says that he was looking for money for his own projects and thought that he was helping the United States.

One of Michel’s ‘missions’, on Low’s orders, was to convince the US government to turn over a New York-based Chinese billionaire, Miles Guo, to the Chinese authorities. Guo is an ally of Steve Bannon and has now been arrested by US authorities.

Low wanted Guo handed over to Beijing as a favor to Chinese leaders, as a form of insurance while US prosecutors began investigating Low’s dealings.

Michel got tangled up in the mess.

Jury selection began on Monday, and the rapper was seen near court on Tuesday, dapper in a pinstripe suit and red tie. He did not comment on the proceedings.

The 50-year-old is accused of accepting $100 million from Low and using its funds in an attempt to influence the administrations of President Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Low is accused of orchestrating one of the largest financial scams in history.

He is accused of turning the Malaysian government’s slush fund budget into his personal piggy bank, selling fake bonds through Goldman Sachs and using the money to finance a celebrity-studded lifestyle.

He even financed the Leonard DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street.

Low, 41, is believed to be hiding in China, for which Michel is on trial alone for his part in the scam.

Proceedings are expected to start in April.

michel said Rolling Stone He met Low at a nightclub in New York City in 2006.

Prosecutors allege that Michel engaged in a two-part scheme orchestrated by Low, for which he was indicted in 2019, court documents show.

The first involved a fundraiser for Obama during his 2012 presidential campaign.

Michel allegedly reimbursed guests to attend the $40,000-per-person fundraising dinner in an effort to curry favor with the president’s administration, then threatened them to ensure they would not reveal where their funds came from, according to npr.

Michel allegedly funneled a total of $1 million of Low’s funds to the Obama campaign and did so through 20 donors to avoid detection. Those funds allegedly came directly from cash Low stole from the Malaysian government.

The second plot involved Michel helping Low lobby Trump administration officials in an effort to end an investigation into Low’s business dealings.

‘The defendant, Prakazrel [Pras] Michel, received more than $100 million from Jho Low, a foreign fugitive responsible for one of the largest embezzlement schemes in history,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.

“Using proxy influence to convince the then-President of the United States to drop a federal investigation into Low and agree to the extrajudicial removal of a Chinese exile living in the United States.”

Michel is also believed to have met with a Chinese government official at a Four Seasons hotel in New York City to organize his efforts in 2017.

Chinese officials wanted Chinese financial fraudster Guo, then residing in the United States, extradited to Beijing.

Guo was known to have formed a close relationship with Trump’s White House adviser Steve Bannon.

This month, Guo was arrested by the FBI for allegedly defrauding people out of around $1 billion in an online scheme. His New York City penthouse mysteriously caught fire hours after his arrest as officers searched him.

Court files indicated that Michel plans to argue that he simply followed the advice of his lawyers and that everything he did he thought was in the best interest of the US government when he met with Chinese officials.

“Defendant continues to deny that he was acting as an agent of China and denies that he knowingly and knowingly acted as an undercover agent under the direction and control of China when he approached the FBI,” his defense attorneys wrote.

Several people involved in Michel’s alleged schemes have already pleaded guilty or obtained immunity from the government as part of the investigation, according to NPR.

Michel allegedly pocketed between $8 million and $40 million for his role in helping Low in the scheme.

The trial is expected to attract a number of high-profile witnesses, which could include Trump’s White House chief of staff John Kelly, former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger and former national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani could also be called in, along with Bannon himself.

Another notable witness is DiCaprio, who reached out to the justice department when he learned of the charges against Michel in 2019.

Low helped divert the film’s $100 million budget as part of what appeared to be an ongoing plan to infiltrate Hollywood and celebrity circles.

It is not clear if Michel was involved in financing the film.

A spokesperson for the actor said at the time that the actor was working with investigators “to determine whether he or his foundation, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, ever received gifts or charitable donations directly or indirectly related to these holidays and, if so, to return those gifts or donations as soon as possible.’

“Both Mr. DiCaprio and the LDF continue to fully support all efforts to ensure that justice is served in this matter,” the spokesperson continued. ‘Mister. DiCaprio is grateful for the government’s leadership and direction on how to accomplish this.’