Grammy-winning musician Pras Michel told a jury that millions of dollars he accepted from a fugitive billionaire amounted to "free money" he pocketed for trying to get the man a photo with then-President Obama.
Under withering cross examination, Michel acknowledged he used some of that money to pay for friends to attend $40,000-a-plate fundraisers for the Obama campaign in 2012, essentially funneling illegal foreign funds into the American election system.
Years later, after FBI agents visited his friends, Michel sent the friends letters characterizing those gifts as loans and demanding repayment amid threats to sue them. He said he relied on advice from an attorney at the time, and that he depended on his financial adviser for advice regarding the billionaire's money, which he reported as a gift to avoid paying taxes.
