Lauryn Hill sued by Fugees band member for tour fraud

NEW YORK (AP) — Fugees rapper Pras sued bandmate Lauryn Hill on Tuesday for fraud involving the group. shortened 2023 reunion tourclaiming that she had taken advantage of his criminal conviction to impose an unfair contract on him.

The lawsuit filed in federal court by Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, a founding member of the Fugees with Hill and Wyclef Jean, alleges that Hill “interfered” after his “unjust” verdict in a federal criminal conspiracy case, and had no choice but to agree to his terms expensive. And she then hid the books, defrauding him financially and penalizing him, according to the lawsuit.

The tour was billed as an anniversary celebration of Hill’s landmark 1998 album. “The Bad Education of Lauryn Hill”, and it was to include a reunion of the two-time Grammy Award-winning Fugees, consisting of Hill, Pras and WyclefJean, The pioneering progressive hip-hop group is best known for its 1990s platinum hits “Ready or Not,” “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “Fu-Gee-La.”

“The Lord must have been on leave the day he associated Lauryn Hill with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel, the plaintiff in this action, because the betrayal within the fake Fugees family reached mythical proportions,” the lawsuit states in a dramatic introduction. “It’s their tale of woe.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Hill spoiled the tour by showing up hours late, and claims the real draw of the tour was the reunions, not Hill, but she “nevertheless insisted on relegating ‘The Fugees’ billing to a equal or secondary status after his name It was the first bitter pill that Michel had to swallow.

Hill called the lawsuit “meritless” with “false allegations and unwarranted attacks,” in a statement to The Associated Press. She wrote that the lawsuit “notably omits that he was advanced for an overpayment for the last tour and that he failed to repay substantial loans that I had made as a gesture of goodwill”, totaling $3 million, putting him in breach of contract.

She added that the 2023 tour was organized as a solo celebration of her album, and whether it would have taken place with the Fugees or not.

Hill said the Fugees were added to the tour because she discovered Pras was “in trouble and would need money to help with his legal defense.”

Hill also said that she “absorbed most of the expenses myself, produced the show, put the whole set together… Pras just had to show up and perform.”

In April last year, Pras was found guilty of 10 counts related to multi-million dollar political conspiracies spanning two presidencies, including for acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.

In a trial that included testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio and a series of other figures, Michel was accused of funneling money from a Malaysian donor through straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, then trying to cover up a U.S. Department of Justice investigation and influencing an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration. .

He faces up to 20 years in prison. He is free ahead of his sentencing, which has not yet been set.

After his conviction, Michel’s lawyer, David Kennerpleaded guilty to leaking grand jury information to reporters, and he was left without representation.

Needing to pay lawyers, Michel agreed to unfair terms so he could receive an advance on his share of the tour money and accepted a deal he had rejected for a proposed reunion tour in 2021, according to his trial.

“MS. Hill misrepresented critical financial information and concealed his intention to take an excessive 60% share of the tour’s proceeds, leaving Mr. Michel with only 20% instead of the band’s usual one-third split.” , Michel’s lawyer, Robert S. Meloni, said in a statement.

The lawsuit also alleges that Hill unilaterally rejected a $5 million offer for the Fugees to perform at the Coachella festival because No Doubt would receive a higher bill.

The lawsuit asks that a judge cancel the tour contract and order an accounting of its finances. She asks that actual and punitive damages be determined at trial.

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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.