Sean Kingston and his mother found guilty over $1 million fraud
Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, have been found guilty of wire fraud. The duo allegedly took part in a “scheme to defraud victim sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewellery, and other goods purchased by the defendants through the use of fraudulent documents.”
The verdict was delivered to Kingston (real name Kisean Anderson) on March 28th, after almost four hours of deliberations, during the final day of his trial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He faces house arrest with electronic monitoring and must post a surety bond for a home valued at $500,000 and $200,000 in cash.
As for his mother, Turner will remain in federal custody until their sentencing on July 11th, according to NBC News. They could face up to 20 years for the six charged counts.
The indictment claimed their fraud scheme lasted until March 2024. Initially pleading not guilty to all counts, Kingston was arrested in Fort Irwin, California, in May 2024 on a warrant issued by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida after his home was raided.
The pair were indicted in July 2024. Kingston was accused of using his fame and social media accounts to convince sellers to deliver items before payment.
They allegedly “enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment” on the purchases but never sent the money, and they are said to have stolen around $1 million worth of property.
Kingston is best known for his 2007 hit single, ‘Beautiful Girls’, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. He also achieved other big singles in ‘Fire Burning’, ‘Take You There’, ‘Me Love’, and ‘Eeenie Meenie’ with Justin Bieber.