In addition to the legal showdown former Fugees rapper Pras Michel is up against with the United States government, he's also battling his ex-wife in court. Earlier this year Pras chatted with TMZ and denied the fraud charges stacked against him as the rapper stands accused of attempting to launder tens of millions of dollars into the United States illegally for Malaysian businessman Jho Low during the 2012 elections.
Court paperwork accuses Pras of "making foreign and conduit campaign contributions,” and he's charged with “one count of a scheme to conceal material facts and two counts of making a false entry in a record in connection with the conspiracy.” While the pressure continues to mount in that case, Page Six reports that Pras's ex Angela Severiano's lawyer told a judge this week that the rapper is using a “complex web of shell companies” to withhold money. According to the attorney, it's all a scheme by Pras to keep him from paying child support for his son Landon who he shares with Angela.
Recently, Pras and his team argued that he needed the $4,800 per month child support payment for Landon to be reduced significantly because the government seized his accounts. According to Pras, he doesn't have any money, but Angela's lawyer stated, "Approximately $1 million dollars flowed into and out of this account over a six month period ending in September, just two months ago," he said. "We found that Pras uses a complex web of shell companies to mask his true financial resources. What we uncovered was not only astonishing, but it proved that everything Pras has told this Court was a lie."
Pras's representative reportedly made a statement that the rapper loves his son and isn't trying to get out of caring for his child. "The government has tied up $1 billion of his money," they said, adding that Pras isn't obligated to make child support payments from his business accounts. They come from his personal accounts, but at the moment, he doesn't have any cash flow. However, he intends to make a payment in January on the $125K he owes to Angela. Meanwhile, he's reportedly pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges against him.
