Crime
Rapper Sean Kingston agrees to return to Florida where he and his mother face $1 million fraud charges
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) – Rapper and singer Sean Kingston on Tuesday waived his right to fight extradition in a California court and agreed to give up to authorities in Florida, where he and his mother are accused of committing greater than a million dollar fraud.
Kingston, 34, didn’t appear publicly in court but signed papers agreeing to bypass extradition hearings, San Bernardino court and sheriff officials told The Associated Press.
He remained in a Southern California jail as of Tuesday afternoon, but sheriff’s officials will work with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office to return him to Florida, sheriff’s spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said in an email.
Kingston was arrested Thursday at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert, where he was performing.
His mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, was arrested the identical day a SWAT team raided Kingston’s rented residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
According to arrest warrants issued by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Kingston and Turner were charged with conducting an organized scheme to commit fraud, common larceny, identity theft and related crimes. Warrants say they stole money, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture.
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The Jamaican-American artist achieved a chart-topping hit in 2007 with “Beautiful Girls” and collaborated with Justin Bieber on “Eenie Meenie.”
Robert Rosenblatt, a lawyer for Kingston and his mother, said Friday they plan to waive extradition, saying he looked forward to responding to the charges in a Florida court and was “confident of a successful outcome.”
Emails sent to Rosenblatt looking for further comment Tuesday weren’t immediately responded to.
Warrants within the case show that between October and March they stole nearly $500,000 price of jewellery, greater than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from an Escalade dealer, greater than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 manufacturer of custom-made beds. No specific details got.
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already on two-year probation for dealing in stolen property.
According to federal court records, his mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing greater than $160,000 and spent nearly 1.5 years in prison.