WASHINGTON (AP) — A rapper and founding member of the 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees is fighting the U.S. government over a multimillion-dollar forfeiture complaint.
Prakazrel “Pras” Michel faces allegations in a civil forfeiture complaint that he participated in a scheme to try to influence a Justice Department investigation into corruption involving a Malaysian investment fund.
Justice Department officials are trying to recover roughly $38 million from Michel that they say can be connected to that scheme.
Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Michel, asked Monday to dismiss the complaint. He says there’s no evidence that the funds in the accounts the government wants to seize are proceeds of fraud.
Michel has denied wrongdoing. He told The Washington Post in a statement last month that his name was being “dragged through the mud.”
