Troubled Fugees founder Pras Michel is set to go on trial at the end of March, and reports regarding how he is raising money for his defense are starting to leak.
As the Grammy Award-winning artist moves toward his federal charges to conspire with fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low to persuade the Obama and Trump administrations with financial donations, Reuters says he is now offering to break off some investors with some loot if they add to his defense fund.
As the trial approaches, money to fight the feds is getting tight for the Haitian American. To defer the costs of the approximately $2.6 million needed for the trial, he and his litigation finance broker, Peter Petyt from 4 Rivers Services Inc., are looking for an investor to front them the money.
The pitch was made on Tuesday, March 14 in the Litigation Finance Insider, a popular email newsletter.
The investor will receive from Pras a share of approximately $75 million, monies the artist had to hand over to the government during the investigation and the upcoming trial when he is exonerated in the case.
Another proposal pushed by the broker is to offer an investor “a stake in Michel’s future earnings as a performer.”
Petyt confirmed the money is “tight” for the rapper. He also believes it’s going to be a challenge to get the money, saying, “It’s going to be difficult to finance because it’s so different from the usual case [that he deals with .”